The Song of Life
by Librius
Summary: When the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros fall into chaos, Derek Baratheon, the only True Born Heir of King Robert and Queen Cersei, struggles to choose between the two Houses he calls Family. Meanwhile, Raymond Lannister, the loyal middle child of Tywin Lannister, follows his father to war to repair the damage caused by his bastard nephew. -Season 1-
1. Prologue

**It's been a while since I checked up on my Game of Thrones history so forgive me if I seem a little rusty, hopefully I can quickly get a feel for the world again. A quick note, I've seen quite a few fics where the True Born Baratheon Heir seems to adapt to the war too quickly and immediately becomes invincible, so I'm taking a different approach. Also, I'll be open to accepting OC's by some people for certain Houses, preferably a Stark, but I'll just throw names in like Tyrell, Martell, Tully, other lesser Houses perhaps. If you have an OC you think might fit in the story, submit them via PM and I'll let you know what I think.**

 **Full Summary: When the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros fall into chaos, Derek Baratheon, the only True Born Heir of King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Baratheon, struggles to choose between the two Houses he calls Family. Meanwhile, Raymond Lannister, the loyal middle child of Tywin Lannister, follows his father to war to repair the damage caused by his bastard nephew, and hopefully save the Great Houses before they bleed each other to extinction.**

 ** ** ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's, Raymond Lannister and Derek Baratheon.********

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **'Prologue'********

 ** ** ** **King's Landing********

Jon Arryn is dead.

No matter how many times Robert Baratheon wanted to deny it, it was the truth.

The man he looked up to was right there in front of him, laid out in the throne room of the Red Keep, lifeless and pale.

Robert had already shed his tears a while ago, now he just stared with a stoic but mournful look on his face.

The King felt a small hand slowly grab hold of his own, breaking him out of his trance and causing him to look down at the slim and short black-haired boy, who was looking up at him with a warm smile.

"Please don't be sad father. Always look ahead and smile, right?" The young black-haired boy said, and despite the strong mask he was trying to put on, his blue eyes showed clear signs of tears from earlier.

Robert almost started to tear up again, because of the words said to him, words he always used to say to his son to cheer him up, and because he knew that like him, his son had shed his tears a while ago, and was now simply trying to look strong just for him.

The King smiled a little, and knowing he had managed to pull it off, the young boy hugged his father in response.

A hug that Robert was more than happy to return, embracing his son for a short moment before quietly telling him, "Go on now Derek, I'm gonna stay here just a little longer."

Derek slowly pulled away and nodded, casting one last glance at Jon Arryn before taking his leave, escorted away by a few Baratheon Guards.

While he stood in silence, Robert thought back on all of the times that the Lord of the Vale had helped him, all of the times that he had saved him, mostly from himself, for without Jon Arryn, he would have made a good few reckless decisions back in the day.

Again, Robert wanted to pretend that this was all a dream but he knew he had to face reality eventually, better now than later he figured.

"Goodbye Jon." Robert said, giving the Lord of the Vale a firm nod. "I'll be seeing you soon."

* * *

"As your brother, I feel it's my duty to warn you, you worry too much. It's starting to show." Jaime had said to his sister as he joined her in watching over Jon Arryn's body.

"And you never worry about anything." Cersei replied, adding, "When we were seven, you jumped off the cliffs at Casterly Rock. A hundred foot drop into the water, you were never afraid."

Jaime shrugged in response. "There was nothing to be afraid of until you told father." He said as he imitated their father, "We're Lannister's, Lannister's don't act like fools."

Cersei looked back over at the body of Jon Arryn, and asked, "What if Jon Arryn told someone?"

"But who would he tell?" Jaime asked in response.

"My husband." Cersei answered, barely giving it any thought.

Jaime didn't agree however. "If he told the King, both our heads would be skewered on the city gates by now. Whatever Jon Arryn knew or didn't know, it died with him." He explained, adding, "And Robert will choose a new Hand of the King, someone to do his job while he's off fucking boars and hunting whores, or is it the other way around?" He asked casually.

Cersei almost looked amused by her brothers comments. "And life will go on." Jaime said, seemingly convinced their secret was safe.

"You should be the Hand of the King." Cersei replied.

Jaime however didn't look very happy with the suggestion. "That's an honour I can do without. Their days are too long, their lives are too short." He said, if his words didn't make it clear where he stood on that topic, his expression certainly did.

Cersei accepted his answer and looked back at Jon Arryn's body, hoping inside that Jaime was right.

Hoping that whatever Jon Arryn knew, had indeed died with him.

* * *

Derek Baratheon had watched in silence most of the time as his family were preparing to leave King's Landing.

When he learned that his father was preparing to head North, he correctly assumed it was because his father wanted his old friend Eddard Stark to become the new Hand of the King.

Of course, Derek couldn't blame him.

His father loved Jon Arryn dearly, so it made sense that Robert wanted someone he knew very well by his side. Someone wise, kind, patient, loyal, trustworthy, and above all, honourable.

No man in the Seven Kingdoms matched that description better than Eddard Stark.

Derek did wonder if it had anything to do with Lyanna Stark, but he remembered that every time her name was brought up, Robert would go silent and look filled with grief.

He had asked his Uncle Stannis one time about why his father cared so much about this Lyanna Stark. When Stannis did explain the story to him, Derek understood why his father was too sad to talk about it.

The last thing he would ever want is to bring up memories that would upset his father, so Derek always made sure to be careful not to bring up Lyanna Stark.

Derek discovered that his mother would be riding in a carriage along with his older sister Myrcella and his younger brother Tommen, and had also heard that his mother had requested for him to ride in the carriage with them.

While he wasn't against the idea, Derek also discovered that his oldest sibling, his brother Joffrey, was riding on a horse of his own alongside the others. And given the, somewhat troubled history he had with his mother, Derek decided to play it safe and get a horse of his own so he could ride next to his father.

He asked Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of his fathers Kingsguard, for assistance.

Unlike Joffrey who preferred to laze about, Derek actually sought to learn and train with a sword, and it was he who approached Barristan Selmy to teach him.

Of course, Derek didn't exactly make the best progress for a time, but encouragement from Ser Barristan pushed him to keep trying, and he was able to get the hang of swinging a sword eventually. Of course, he welcomed the blunt praise from Ser Barristan that while he knew how to handle a sword, he still had to know how to fight with one.

Whenever he wasn't at Dragonstone studying under his Uncle Stannis, Derek would be learning whatever he could from Ser Barristan, whether it was learning how to fight with a sword, or learning how to ride a horse.

Thankfully, he proved to excel at the latter more so than the former, or, maybe it was just due to the fact that Barristan had provided him with a loyal horse that really listened well to its rider.

Either way, Derek was just happy to have someone help him out whenever he really needed it.

Once Ser Barristan had returned with his horse, he helped the young Prince up.

"I think she missed you." Barristan said in amusement as he helped Derek get saddled up.

Derek patted the white horses head, "You missed me eh, Cassie?"

Cassie whinnied.

After their first lesson together, Derek was more than happy to have her as his horse. He named her Cassie, after his grandmother and Robert's mother, Cassana Baratheon.

Of course, this touched Robert, and made him all the more proud of the boy.

Cersei was against him riding a horse, making complaints such as him falling from the horse and hurting himself, or worse.

It was the expected reaction but Derek did manage to convince his mother to let him ride as long as someone was keeping an eye on him, that someone being Ser Barristan.

The Lord Commander in question just so happened to be on his own horse, right next to Derek, just to make sure he didn't fall off during their trip North.

Despite knowing he was well past the point of being inexperienced enough to fall from the horse, Derek just accepted defeat and relented. "This is embarrassing."

"Apologies my Prince, your mother insisted." Barristan said with a smile.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Of course she did."

"Riding on your own little brother?"

One of the voices Derek did not want to hear.

He looked over and saw Joffrey riding up next to him. "Big brother." Derek said with half a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. I can't believe I had to cut my sleep short just travel up to the damn North." Joffrey complained.

Derek shrugged, "I've never been up in the North before. Neither have you. I think it would be nice to sightsee at least, I've always wanted to see The Wall. In fact, it'd be great to stand at the top of it, I bet the view would be amazing."

Joffrey just smirked a little at him, "By all means. Just make sure you don't slip and fall." He said mockingly before riding on ahead as Robert and his escort began to move.

Barristan frowned a little and looked down at the back-haired Prince, expecting some sort of reaction.

However, Derek managed to keep a strong and stoic look on his face. Letting words like that get to him is exactly what Joffrey would want, and he wasn't going to let such a taunting remark get him riled up. Unlike Joffrey, Derek was good at keeping himself composed and keeping a cool head, something he learned from his Uncle Stannis, while his older brother would simply shout and scream and get angry at even the littlest things.

Whenever Joffrey tended to pick on Tommen, Derek would stand up for their younger brother. Even if Joffrey was the oldest, even if Joffrey was a little bigger than him, Derek would never back down and simply stare at his older brother with a calm and stoic look.

He wouldn't hit Joffrey of course. Even if Joffrey would hit him, Derek would never hit back, he would simply take whatever abuse Joffrey would throw at him in calm silence.

And whenever their mother would stumble upon them during these moments, she would have no choice but to lecture Joffrey to teach him a lesson and send him to his room before tending to Derek.

His mother would make sure she got rid of any marks and bruises, getting him the best treatment she could, just to make sure her handsome little Stag remained just that. And whenever she was done, he would thank her and hug her and tell her that he loves her.

While it was no secret that Cersei seemed to favour Joffrey, Derek's affection warmed her heart and always managed to make her smile.

It was this affection that made their relationship somewhat difficult. Because it was only during those times that Cersei actually showed any motherly love to her third born.

Any other time, any other day, she would always be busy giving Joffrey attention, she even seemed to give Myrcella and Tommen more attention than Derek as well. Outside of a few rare times where he actually sought her comfort, it was only during the times when Joffrey would get mad at him and hit him, that Cersei would give Derek her love and attention.

So the idea of sitting in a carriage with her for a month made him feel a little, uncomfortable and awkward at most.

As the carriage in question was passing by, Derek saw his mother inside looking at him, and he quickly smiled at her, giving her a small wave.

Cersei actually smiled a little in response, and gave him a little wiggly wave in return.

Smiling as he watched the carriage leave, Derek began to follow as he thought about how great it was to have such a wonderful family.

He loved his family.

He loved his father, nearly always being at Robert's side, always listening to his stories and being amazed at how strong he used to be. He loved his mother, even if the relationship between them was, difficult, he nonetheless loved her with all of his heart.

He loved his Baratheon Uncles greatly too. While he would study under his Uncle Stannis or play with his cousin Shireen at Dragonstone, his Uncle Renly showed him around and took him to Highgarden and Dorne, two places that Derek had wanted to see for himself. Highgarden was beautiful, and he got to meet Mace Tyrell and Randyll Tarly, the only man who had defeated his father in battle, another thing Derek made sure not to bring up around his father.

And of course, his Lannister Uncles were just as dear to him. His Uncle Jaime would sometimes teach him how to fight with a sword whenever Ser Barristan was too busy, and his Uncle Tyrion was always nice to him, telling him stories about Westeros. His Uncle Raymond was just as nice to him, always making sure to tell Derek to be strong for his family, and to never let anyone take advantage of him or his kindness.

Even though he hadn't seen him much recently, Derek could never forget his Lannister Grandfather, Tywin. And any time he would visit Casterly Rock, he would always make sure to spend time with his Grandfather, who was clearly more fond of him than Joffrey.

He believed he had the best family one could ask for, and he loved them all more than anything else in the world.

So what can he do when tensions begin to rise between his loved ones?

* * *

 **Authors Notes: Now I'm not too sure exactly on how old certain characters are at the beginning of the series, doesn't seem like anyone is, but to clarify, Derek is one year younger than Myrcella, and even though he hasn't appeared yet, Raymond Lannister is 34, there's a two year gap between him and all three of his siblings, assuming I've got the ages right. Now I could've written more, but my Prologues tend to be short anyway so I just left it at that.**

 **I do plan on writing most of what we got from the show, but I'll try and use some stuff from the books as well, particularly more use of the Dorne storyline and the Greyjoys, because we obviously didn't see enough of them in the show.**

 **On that note, I'm looking for a strong female Stark OC for the next chapter. If you have a good Stark OC that you think might fit in with the story, send me a PM and if the OC is just what I'm looking for, I'll let you know and inform you of the characters role. You can also suggest the characters role, I'll consider it.**

 **Not much else to say other than feel free to leave a Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	2. The Wolves of Winterfell

**Things should start to progress a little in this chapter as it covers most of the first episode, not everything but most of the important parts, I was originally thinking about covering the first and second episodes but that didn't end up happening. I'm not going to cover everything though, so I'm not sure if I'm going to include some of Daenerys' early scenes. Then again that depends on the characters present in said scenes. Also for the sake of story progression there will be time jumps, the show does it anyway so, yeah, that's about it.**

 **On that note, the Stark OC role has been taken, I appreciate everyone who sent me their OC's, and don't worry about missing it, there will be other spots for various Houses as the story progresses. Speaking of which, if there is a role I'm looking to have filled, it will be in the Authors Notes at the end of the chapter, and if I haven't stated in the following chapters that any roles are taken, then that means they're still available, so feel free to submit an OC.**

 ** ** ** ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's, Raymond Lannister and Derek Baratheon. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury.**********

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 2:  
'The Wolves of Winterfell'********

 ** ** ** **The North, Winterfell********

When his wife had informed him of Jon Arryn's death, Eddard 'Ned' Stark was visibly shocked and upset.

That man was like a father to him, and to die so suddenly out of the blue like that, it grieved the Lord of House Stark to no end.

He had little time to mourn however.

King Robert Baratheon was on his way to Winterfell, with the Queen and all the rest as his wife had told him.

It didn't take a genius to figure out the purpose of this visit, especially so soon after Jon Arryn's unexpected passing.

The King was coming to Winterfell for one reason.

He wanted Ned Stark to be the new Hand of the King.

For the longest time, Ned didn't believe he ever had to worry about debating on whether or not to accept the position, not when Jon Arryn was the Hand of the King. He had no reason to imagine himself in the role.

Yet, the unexpected death of Jon Arryn had made that into a potential reality, and now all Ned could think about was whether to accept, or refuse.

His wife, Catelyn Stark, told him that he could always say no, it wasn't as if he HAD to take the position.

He was well within his right to refuse if he wanted to, but there was just something off about it all that made him question if refusing was the right choice.

As he continued to debate in his head while he was still cleaning Ice, the ancestral greatsword of House Stark, Ned's silence was disturbed once more.

When he turned to look up at the visitor, he froze for just a brief second before offering a warm smile. "Jocelyn."

Jocelyn Stark, Ned Stark's eldest daughter. Being the eldest alongside Robb, she looked every bit the mature girl that was expected of her age, especially of a Stark. She was wearing a white fur cloak over her clean blue dress and had her dark brown hair tied up at the back, looking as beautiful as she always does.

Even without making herself look presentable, the boys in Winterfell would always be unable to take their eyes off of her, too captivated by her beauty to look away. Sometimes Robb would become aware of those looks, and he would get very annoyed, sometimes frustrated, but Jocelyn would gently calm him down, always letting him know that she isn't bothered by it, never has been, and neither should he.

And yet this was not the only case.

Some Northerners, even in Winterfell, took to calling her the 'Ghost of Lyanna Stark'. This was mainly due to the fact that Jocelyn was very much the spitting image of her late aunt.

Ned couldn't deny it. He could never forget what his sister looked like.

Whenever he would walk around Winterfell and come across his eldest daughter, he would forget, and for just a brief moment, he had thought that his sister was alive, and had come home.

The surprise in that brief moment would quickly change to heartbreak when he would remember what happened to his sister.

And every time he would look at his eldest daughter, she would look visibly hurt by his expression, because only she can ever notice that little flicker of heartbreak in his eyes every single time he looked at her.

It wasn't intentional, far from it. Ned would never want to hurt his daughters feelings, so of course he had to tell her one day and when he did, she simply apologised. Of course, Ned wasn't going to take that apology, because she had nothing to apologise for, if anything, he was the one who apologised for always thinking his sister had returned home alive and well.

When she was young, she used to be mocked for her looks simply because she wasn't pretty at the time. Ned was aware of this and he was always proud that she would simply ignore those mocking remarks and brush them off, as expected of a noble lady. Even back then, he predicted she would be a smart girl who wouldn't let others comments about her get to her, and he was glad to see that was the case.

What he could never have predicted however was her growing up, and looking like Lyanna Stark reborn. And again, inheriting the looks of her late aunt blessed Jocelyn with unrivalled beauty, and like her aunt, there was simply no other girl in the North who could match her pretty looks.

Either way, Ned felt somewhat blessed himself. That even if his sister was gone, he felt blessed that he got to see Lyanna's face every single day.

It was only after Jocelyn cleared her throat that Ned eventually broke out of his thoughts and spoke. "My apologies, it happened again."

Jocelyn gave him a warm smile, simply replying, "No need to apologise father. At this point, I'm used to it."

A light chuckle and Ned eyed her up and down before asking, "The King won't be here for a little while longer, you don't need to look presentable yet."

"I just thought it would be nice to get a head start." Jocelyn said with a giggle.

Ned laughed a little, "You always say that."

Jocelyn folded her arms over her chest and replied, "Mother told me that the King is coming here because he wants you to become the new Hand of the King."

A simple nod was Ned's response as he returned to cleaning Ice.

"Are you?"

Ned looked back up at her, and she asked, "Are you going to become the new Hand of the King?"

He still wasn't sure. He needed a little more time to think it over and even then, he still probably wouldn't know his answer. "I don't know."

"I spoke with the others about it." Jocelyn replied.

When Ned looked at her again, she added, "Robb doesn't mind if you say yes or no. Neither does Jon. Sansa was pretty insistent that you accept however."

Ned straightened himself a little, looking curious. "She was?"

Jocelyn nodded. "Yes. I think that's only because she wants to go down to King's Landing and be near the Prince." She sighed, and then let out an amused chuckle. "I keep telling her that the world is not like the fairy tales, but no matter how much I do, she never seems to listen."

"You've done your research on King's Landing I assume." Ned replied, looking both amused and proud.

The eldest Stark daughter smiled, "When you read a lot of books and learn a lot about the histories of the Seven Kingdoms, it's not that difficult to see the world isn't an easy place to live in. I'm well aware King's Landing has a deceptive nature to it, that's why I'm against you becoming the new Hand of the King."

When Ned looked at her, slightly surprised, Jocelyn added, "It is only going to cause you trouble to no end father. Being the Hand of the King is burden enough. Being the Hand of the King in King's Landing however, that will only put you and your health at risk."

She always had a way with words. She was far more wiser than he gave her credit for and he couldn't help but feel more proud of her because of it.

Ned stood up and returned Ice to its scabbard. "I'm still giving it some thought. I need to speak with Robert myself before I can decide on an answer." He handed the Valyrian steel sword to Jocelyn, who gently took it and carefully held it in her arms. "Return it to my room will you? I'll be there shortly."

Jocelyn nodded and looked at the large sword as Ned began to leave, almost tempted to draw it from the scabbard, but ultimately decided against it. She loved sword fighting, but she wasn't about to try and draw such a big sword and risk dropping it, not after father had just cleaned it.

Suddenly, she remembered something. "Father?"

Ned stopped, turning around to look over at her. "What is it?"

"I just remembered, you took Bran with you when you left to execute that Night's Watch Deserter." Jocelyn said, before asking, "How was he? After you, swung the sword I mean?"

Remembering it, and feeling proud of his son, Ned replied, "He kept up a brave face."

Despite the calm expression on her face, there was a flicker of concern in her eyes as she replied, "Father, do you really think he was ready to see something like that? Even if he kept up a brave face, seeing you execute that man may have terrified him inside."

Ned just sighed, recalling when his wife objected to him taking Bran to the deserter's execution. "Jocelyn, I understand how you feel, but Bran-"

"Won't be a boy forever, I know." His daughter interrupted him, before giving him a little smile. "But, if it isn't too much trouble, do you think you could, maybe, let him be a boy just a little longer?"

The Lord of Winterfell just stared at her for a long moment, before breaking out into a light chuckle, failing to hold back his own smile. "I'll give it some thought, how does that sound?"

"Sounds fair." His daughter replied, still smiling.

Another chuckle, and Ned turned to leave, waiting until his back was turned before letting his smile fade.

As soon as her father had left, Jocelyn sighed and kneeled down next to the large pond. After staring at her reflection for a long moment, she put a finger into the water and twirled it around before looking up at the Weirwood Tree next to her.

She quietly asked, "If he goes, will he be okay? Will my sisters like it down in King's Landing? What if they do and decide they want to stay there forever?" In her mind, she was trying to picture the many things she thought could go wrong down at King's Landing.

But in the end, most if not all of her imaginations were exactly just that. Her imagination. Perhaps she was thinking too hard on the subject, or perhaps she was just trying to think of too much too quickly.

"Maybe I'm just worrying too much. I suppose Sansa and Arya will at least get to see what the south is like for themselves, if father decides to become the new Hand of the King." She said quietly.

Jocelyn then smiled to herself at the sound of a bark and got back to her feet, still holding Ice carefully in her arms.

"Direwolves, south of The Wall. Truly, Winter is coming."

* * *

 **The North, Winterfell**

"Why is your mother so dead set on us getting pretty for the King?"

Jon Snow didn't seem too thrilled about the King's visit, not as much as his siblings anyway judging by their mixed reactions upon hearing of it.

While Sansa, Arya and Bran seemed excited, Robb wasn't making a big deal out of it, the same could be said for Jocelyn, and Rickon, well, Rickon was mostly oblivious to the whole thing.

And for a moment, he thought back to when his father executed the Night's Watch deserter, then he remembered his Uncle Benjen up at Castle Black.

The thought of Castle Black got him curious, and, somewhat, interested.

He'd always stuck out, and felt like he didn't belong. It wasn't like that at Castle Black though from what he knew, as it was common knowledge that the Night's Watch welcome any man willing to join their ranks.

For a moment, he entertained the thought, until Theon Greyjoy spoke up.

"It's for the Queen, I bet. I hear she's a sleek bit of mink."

Robb replied after having his facial hair shaved. "I hear one of the Princes' is a right royal prick."

Theon just grinned in response. "Think of all those southern girls he gets to stab with his right royal prick."

Once he was done, Robb got to his feet and moved aside to let Jon sit down next. "Go on Tommy, shear him good. He's never met a girl he likes better than his own hair."

Jon just frowned lightly as Robb and Theon laughed at the formers joke.

* * *

So far, everyone was doing fine making themselves look presentable for when the King arrived.

Catelyn Stark however was almost stressed out of her mind trying to get everything in order for the King's arrival.

She was thankful however that Maester Luwin and her eldest daughter Jocelyn were there helping her set everything up.

When Maester Luwin brought up the topic of how much Lord Tyrion liked to drink, Catelyn and Jocelyn were very curious as to exactly how much the Lannister could drink.

Maester Luwin simply told them that they brought out eight barrels of ale from the cellar, stating that they would find out soon enough.

While Catelyn didn't seem to mind much, Jocelyn was looking very forward to finding out.

As they made their way outside, Catelyn was caught off guard by Summer, Bran's Direwolf pup.

"Gods, but they grow fast."

Curious upon noticing Summer staring off in a certain direction, Catelyn and the others followed the pups gaze to Bran, just in time to catch him climbing down from the walls.

"Brandon!"

Jocelyn flinched when her mother shouted her younger brothers name.

"I saw the King!" Bran said as he climbed down the wall. "He's got hundreds of people!"

Catelyn didn't seem to care right now, replying, "How many times have I told you? No climbing!"

Bran was a little too excited however. "But he's coming right now! Down our road!"

Once he had reached the ground, Catelyn approached him and leaned down a little to look him in the eye. "I want you to promise me. No more climbing."

As Maester Luwin and Jocelyn held back an amused smile, Bran looked down at his feet for a brief second, before looking his mother in the eye again. "I promise."

Catelyn straightened up before raising a brow at him. "Do you know what?"

Bran braced himself for whatever punishment she was about to give him. "What?"

"You always look at your feet, before you lie." Catelyn replied.

The Stark boy couldn't hold back the smile that eventually appeared on his face and chuckled.

Catelyn couldn't help but smile at her sons amusing behaviour and decided to just let him off this time. "Run and find your father. Tell him the King is close."

As Bran went to leave, Jocelyn leaned down next to him and whispered in his ear, "Don't get caught next time, ok?"

The two exchanged smiles and Jocelyn winked at him before he ran off to find his father, Summer following right behind him.

When she turned to her mother, who was giving her a questioning look, Jocelyn just laughed. "What?"

* * *

The King had indeed arrived just as Bran had said.

Arya Stark, wearing a cloak and a helmet, was sitting in a tall wagon already watching Baratheon and Lannister men riding in on their horses.

They were followed in by a blond-haired boy who Arya could only assume was one of the Princes.

Accompanying the boy were a few Kingsguard, but Arya had her eyes on a large man who was riding next to the Prince. He was nearly armoured from head to toe, his helmet looking like that of a vicious dog, and the jaws of the helmet were shut, concealing the mans face.

Rather than sit and watch from the wagon, she decided to get up and ran to find the rest of her family before the King himself arrived.

Her family was already standing in line in the courtyard, all of them having made sure to each look their best for the royal visit.

Ned stood between them all, with Catelyn to his left, and Rickon right next to her.

To his right stood Robb, with Sansa next to him, Bran next to her, and Jocelyn standing right next to him.

Catelyn was starting to look a little nervous as she looked around, before asking, "Where's Arya? Sansa where is your sister?" She asked her daughter, who simply shrugged in response.

Thankfully, Arya had made it in before the royal family did, running to where her family was lined up, until she was stopped by her father. "Hey, what are you doing with that on?" Ned asked as he took off the helmet she was wearing, much to the amusement of Robb, Jon and Jocelyn. Ned looked back at his daughter and gestured for her to stand next to her siblings. "Go on." He said before handing the helmet over to Rodrik Cassel, Winterfell's Master-at-Arms.

Arya just groaned at having her helmet being taken away before making her way into the line between Bran and Sansa. "Move!" She said, pushing her brother back a little so she could stand between him and Sansa.

Jocelyn moved a little to keep Bran in line with them before whispering to Arya, "Be nice."

Arya was too busy looking at the visitors to pay attention however.

The Baratheon and Lannister troops had arrived inside the courtyard, followed by the Kingsguard, then by the blond-haired boy and his large companion.

Sansa was already eyeing up the Prince, smiling like she'd seen her dream man, and the Prince just smirked in return.

It didn't go unnoticed by Robb, who could tell where his sister was looking and just glared at the Prince.

They were then followed in by a slim and slightly younger, shorter looking boy. Unlike the other, this one had the black hair and blue eyes that the Baratheons were known for, which puzzled some of them as this boy and the other one looked nothing alike, except the length of their hair. Clearly they had their hair tended to by the same person.

There was one Kingsguard that was riding right next to the young black-haired boy.

Ned immediately recognised the man as Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which indeed confirmed the black-haired boy as the other Prince.

The black-haired boy stopped his horse once he was next to his older, blond-haired brother. The two Prince's exchanged looks, and while the black-haired one smiled a little, the blond-haired one simply stared, his smile disappearing in an instant.

A carriage followed, slowing to a stop in the courtyard just as the large man next to the blond-haired Prince opened the jaws of his helmet, revealing a rough looking man with half of his face scarred and burned.

Finally, following the carriage into the courtyard was the King himself, accompanied by Kingsguard and Baratheon men.

Everyone in the courtyard got down on their knees and bowed as soon as he appeared.

After a few assistants provided a set of steps to help him, the King dismounted from his horse and immediately started making his way towards Ned.

Upon reaching him, the King gestured with his hand for Ned to rise.

Ned then stood back up to his full height, as did everyone else.

"Your grace." Ned said, bowing his head a little.

The King looked rather serious, eyeing Ned up and down before replying, "You've got fat."

Ned was taken aback briefly, looking at the King for a moment before using his eyes to gesture towards the Kings own belly.

Only a second after, did the King and Ned start to laugh before hugging each other.

After pulling away, the King approached Catelyn next. "Cat!" He said happily giving Ned's wife a hug also.

"Your grace." Catelyn said bowing her head briefly, welcoming the King's hug.

The King then ruffled Rickon's hair before making his way back over to Ned, still smiling. "Nine years. Why haven't I seen you? Where the hell have you been?"

"Guarding the North for you, your grace. Winterfell is yours." Ned replied as the Queen and her other two children exited the carriage, one a young blond-haired girl, the other a young blond-haired boy.

Arya looked up at Sansa and asked, "Where's the Imp?"

"Will you shut up?" Was Sansa's response.

The King then turned and walked over to Robb. "Who have we here? You must be Robb." He said extending his hand.

Robb took the King's hand and shook it with subtle nod.

"My, you're a pretty one." The King said to Sansa as he walked by her, the latter smiling at the comment.

After stopping at Arya, he leaned down and asked, "Your name is?"

"Arya." The Stark daughter replied.

The King nodded and moved over to Bran next. "Ooh. Show us your muscles." Bran smiled and flexed his arm, causing the King to laugh. "You'll be a soldier."

Once he stopped at Jocelyn, the King was silent.

His smile was gone and for a moment he just stared.

He looked like he was seeing a ghost and the subtle expression on his face soon didn't go unnoticed by Ned and Jocelyn, the former starting to feel a little concerned, and the latter starting to feel confused.

As the King continued to stare at her in silence, Jocelyn's smile slowly started to lower a little but she did her best to keep it as she bowed her head. "M-My apologies. I'm Jocelyn, your grace."

Her words managed to break the King out of his trance and he nodded.

Arya looked over at one of the Kingsguard who removed his helmet, and said, "That's Jaime Lannister. The Queen's twin brother."

"Would you please shut up." Sansa said, clearly not interested in listening to her sisters comments.

The Queen herself approached Ned and extended her hand to him.

Ned bowed his head and leaned down to kiss her hand. "My Queen." She smiled at his gesture.

Catelyn then bowed her head also. "My Queen."

"Take me to your crypt." The King said, glancing a few times back at Jocelyn. "I...want to pay my respects."

The Queen then spoke up. "We've been riding for a month, my love. Surely the dead can wait."

"Ned." The King said almost immediately as if he didn't hear her, casting one last long look at Jocelyn before taking his leave.

Ned exchanged a brief glance with the Queen before taking his leave also, following after the King.

Arya looked up at Sansa and asked again, "Where's the Imp?"

Hearing the question, the Queen glanced over at the Stark daughters before making her way over to her brother. "Where is our brother? Go find the little beast." She said.

Looking amused, Jaime didn't reply and instead set out on his search.

* * *

"Tell me about Jon Arryn."

It was the first thing Ned said after he and King Robert Baratheon entered and made their way through the crypts of Winterfell.

Robert wasn't sure what to say, and replied, "One minute he was fine, and then..." Unsure how to put it, he simply added, "Burned right through him, whatever it was. I loved that man."

A nod was Ned's response. "We both did."

"He never had to teach you much, but me? You remember me at sixteen?" The two laughed, and Robert added, "All I wanted to do was crack skulls and fuck girls. He showed me what was what."

Ned agreed completely, looking at him and giving him a short, "Aye."

Robert looked back at him and grinned, "Don't look at me like that. It's not his fault I didn't listen."

The two laughed again before stopping, turning to face each other as Robert sighed. "I need you, Ned. Down at King's Landing, not up here where you're no damn use to anybody."

Ned knew he was going to say it eventually. Better sooner rather than later he figured.

"Lord Eddard Stark..." Robert started before stating the main reason for his visit. "I would name you the Hand of the King."

Ned was still surprised to hear the words come out of Robert's mouth, and responded by bowing down on one knee. "I'm not worthy of the honour."

"I'm not trying to honour you. I'm trying to get you to run my Kingdom while I eat, drink and whore my way to an early grave. Damn it Ned, stand up." Robert explained, patting Ned on the shoulder.

Robert continued as Ned stood back up. "You helped me win the Iron Throne, now help me keep the damn thing. We were meant to rule together. If your sister had lived, we would have been bound by blood. Well, it's not too late."

Ned stayed silent, waiting for whatever Robert was going to suggest. "I have a son, you have a daughter."

The King waited for a second to let it sink in before confirming what Ned was guessing. "We'll join our Houses." He said before continuing his way through the crypts.

Ned was still trying to process everything.

First Jon Arryn's death. Then Robert coming all the way to Winterfell to ask him to become the new Hand of the King.

Now this?

It was all too much for Ned to take in so quickly, he needed time to think.

He turned around and followed after the King.

* * *

Tyrion Lannister didn't waste any time getting himself comfortable at a whorehouse upon their arrival at Winterfell.

Some of his friends had told him good things, great things about the 'services' of Northern girls, so naturally, he jumped at the opportunity immediately after it presented itself.

And, suffice to say, the girl currently servicing him so far was proving his friends right.

"It is true what they say about the Northern girls." Tyrion grinned and chuckled before lying down on the bed and lifting his feet up.

His companion, Ros, laughed with him, taking his boots off while asking, "Did you hear the King's in Winterfell?"

Tyrion nodded, "I did hear something about that."

"And the Queen. And her twin brother. They say that he is the most handsome man in the Seven Kingdoms." Ros replied.

After she had removed his trousers, Tyrion moved up on the bed and waited for her to join him. "And the other brother?"

"The Queen has two brothers?" Ros asked as she crawled up on the bed next to him.

Tyrion held up three fingers. "Three actually. There's the pretty one. There's the serious one. And there's the clever one."

Ros leaned against him and replied, "I hear they call him the Imp."

"I hear he hates that nickname." Tyrion said, keeping a straight face.

Twirling her finger on his chest, Ros responded, "Oh? I hear he's more than earned it. I hear he's a drunken little lecher, into all manner of perversions."

Tyrion smirked. "Clever girl.

Ros chuckled. "We've been expecting you, Lord Tyrion."

The Imp looked down at his crotch and simply asked, "Have you?"

Ros followed his gaze, and then looked back at him in surprise, "Already?"

Both of them laughed as Tyrion lay down and let her climb on top of him.

"The gods gave me one blessing." Tyrion said as he was about to get to the part he enjoyed the most.

However, before they could get started, the door opened, catching their full attention.

When they looked over, they saw Jaime Lannister entering the room.

"Don't get up." Jaime said with an amused smile.

"M'lord." Ros replied before moving aside to let the two Lannister brothers speak.

Tyrion gave Jaime a lecturing look, telling him, "Should I explain to you the meaning of a closed door in a whorehouse, brother?"

"You've much to teach me, no doubt but..." Jaime started before closing the door. "Our sister craves your attention."

The Imp looked almost amused at his brothers statement. "She has odd cravings, our sister."

"A family trait." Jaime said as he helped himself to a mug of ale, adding, "Now, the Starks are feasting us at sundown. Don't leave me alone with these people." He said before drinking from the mug.

Tyrion raised a brow at his brother. "Couldn't you have just went and fetched our dear brother, instead of breaking my heart by interrupting my fun?"

Jaime chuckled, giving Tyrion the same look. "I'd much prefer the brother that can bear my presence."

"Well I'm sorry." Tyrion replied. "I've begun the feast a bit early. And this is the first of many courses."

The Kingsguard nodded and made his way back over to the door. "I thought you might say that, but since we're short on time..." As soon as he opened the door, a few more girls rushed into the room. "Come on girls." Jaime said, prompting them to run over to the bed, giggling and laughing as they swarmed Tyrion.

Jaime laughed, calling out, "See you at sundown." Before taking his leave.

"Close the door!" Tyrion called out after him.

Not a few seconds after leaving the whorehouse, Jaime found himself face to face with a young man in full Lannister armour.

"Ah, little brother." Jaime said with a smile.

The young man resembled Jaime in some ways. Unlike Jaime however, his short hair was a little more dirty blonde, he wasn't as good looking as Jaime, which was to say that he was good looking, which only added to how good looking Jaime Lannister himself really was.

"I see you already beat me to him." The young man said with a calm frown.

Jaime shrugged, "My apologies, I can't help how good I am at everything I do."

The young man didn't react to his comment, and replied, "Is he coming or what?"

"He will." Jaime nodded. "And you, Raymond?"

Raymond Lannister just narrowed his eyes at his older brother, before turning his back and walking away.

Jaime stood in silence for a few seconds, before calling out, "So, is that a yes?"

* * *

Ned and Robert stood before the tomb of Lyanna Stark, both silent as Ned watched Robert approach Lyanna's statue and place a feather into the statues hand. Words were not enough to describe the grief that both of them felt.

"Did you have to bury her in a place like this?" Robert asked quietly. "She should be on a hill somewhere with the sun and the clouds above her."

The Lord of House Stark simply replied, "She was my sister. This is where she belongs."

Robert struggled to hold back his tears, and could only respond with a few short words. "She belonged with me."

The King slowly reached up and gently placed his hand on the face of Lyanna's statue. "Gods, she looked exactly like her Ned."

Ned looked over at him. "Hm?"

"Your eldest daughter." Robert said. "She was exactly the spitting image of your sister."

Ned didn't say anything, but nodded, understanding where his friend was coming from.

Robert then added, "For years now, I had forgotten what she looked like, and it pained me greatly. And when I walked over to her, and I saw her smiling face, I remembered once again."

It was literally not that long ago, so Ned could easily remember, when he saw Robert staring at Jocelyn as if he'd saw his sister again.

"I remembered what she looked like once again. Gods, for a moment, I swear, I thought your sister had come back Ned." Robert said, tears starting to fill his eyes.

Ned looked over at his friend again before quietly replying, "I understand, believe me, I've done it plenty of times myself."

Robert wanted to chuckle at his friends comment but was unable to. "She's so beautiful, just like your sister was."

A short silence filled the air for a moment before Robert spoke again. "...In my dreams, I kill him every night."

"It's done, your grace." Ned said, hoping his friend would put the past behind him. "The Targaryens are gone."

Robert's grief was slowly replaced by anger as he quietly, and dangerously replied, "Not all of them."

* * *

Once they had concluded their business in the Winterfell Crypts, Ned and Robert had returned to their families to inform them of the marriage between Ned's daughter and Robert's son, while waiting for the banquet to begin.

And while she was unsure how the Queen felt about it, Catelyn Stark wasn't exactly confident about the idea.

Much to her dismay, her daughter Sansa seemed very excited, and once she had found out, she just would not stop talking about it.

Despite some of Catelyn's attempts to change the subject, all Sansa continued to talk about was Joffrey.

"Do you think Joffrey will like me? What if he thinks I'm ugly?" The Stark daughter asked her mother.

Catelyn stopped fixing her daughters hair for a moment to reply, "Then he is the stupidest Prince that ever lived."

Sansa looked into a mirror and smiled. "He's so handsome." Her comment caused Catelyn to roll her eyes. "When would we be married? Soon or do we have to wait?"

"Hush now. Your father hasn't even said yes." Catelyn replied, trying to focus on fixing her daughters hair.

The Stark daughter looked a little confused. "Why would he say no? He'd be the second most powerful man in the Kingdoms."

"He'd have to leave home." Catelyn started, not really needing the time to think of an answer to such a question. "He'd have to leave me. And so would you."

Sansa simply replied, "You left your home to come here. And I'd be Queen someday." Silence followed for a moment before Sansa quickly turned and looked up at her mother. "Please make father say yes!"

"Sansa..." Catelyn started.

Her daughter interrupted her however. "Please, please! It's the only thing I ever wanted."

Catelyn was conflicted, unsure how to respond. If she asked Ned to accept the position of Hand of the King, indeed, he would have to leave her, and so would Sansa.

Yet at the same time, if she persuaded him to refuse, and they stayed, would Sansa hate her for it?

* * *

The banquet had, in King Robert's words, finally begun.

And as expected, the main hall was full of people sitting at tables eating and drinking, Robert amongst them all, having the time of his life.

Robert was wasting little time getting his arms around a wench and kissing her, much to the disgust of Cersei, while Catelyn, who was seated right next to her, couldn't help but feel rather embarrassed for the Queen.

Outside, Jon Snow was by himself, bringing his sword down repeatedly on a fencing dummy.

He was too busy taking his frustration out on the dummy that he didn't bother paying attention to the man in black riding into the courtyard.

Eyeing up Jon, the man asked, "Is he dead yet?"

Jon turned around, just as the man dismounted from his horse and smiled at him.

Dropping his sword, Jon smiled in return and approached him. "Uncle Benjen!" He laughed, throwing his arms around his Uncle, hugging him.

Once they pulled away, Benjen looked Jon in the eye and said, "You got bigger. I rode all day. Didn't want to leave you alone with the Lannisters." He said, still smiling. "Why aren't you at the feast?"

Jon's smile lowered a little. "Lady Stark thought it might insult the royal family to seat a bastard in their midst."

Benjen nodded, sympathising with Jon. "Well you're always welcome on The Wall. No bastard was ever refused a seat there."

"So take me with you when you go back." Jon replied almost immediately, as if he had been giving the idea some thought.

His Uncle didn't look too sure however. "Jon..."

Jon interrupted him before he could say anything. "Father will let me if you ask him, I know he will."

Benjen took a brief moment to think on it, before settling with, "The Wall isn't going anywhere."

"I'm ready, to swear your oath." Jon said.

Indeed, Jon looked and sounded very serious about it, but it wasn't something Benjen would want for him unless he truly wanted to go. "You don't understand what you'd be giving up. We have no families. None of us will ever father sons."

His nephew replied immediately, "I don't care about that."

"You might, if you knew what it meant." Benjen said calmly before looking in the direction of the banquet hall. "I'd better get inside. Rescue your father from his guests. We'll talk later."

With that, Benjen walked away to head inside.

"Your uncle's in the Night's Watch."

The new voice caught Jon's attention and he turned to where it came from, and saw Tyrion Lannister leaning against the stone wall watching him. "What're you doing back there?"

Tyrion approached Jon, taking a drink of his ale before replying, "Preparing for a night with your family. I've always wanted to see The Wall."

"You're Tyrion Lannister. The Queen's brother?" Jon asked.

The Imp nodded. "My greatest accomplishment. And you, you're Ned Stark's bastard aren't you?"

A subtle look of anger showed on Jon's face as he turned his back on the dwarf. "Did I offend you? Sorry. You are the bastard, though." Tyrion added, walking after him.

Jon faced him again, replying, "Lord Eddard Stark is my father."

"And Lady Stark is not your mother. Making you, the bastard." Tyrion continued for him before approaching him. "Let me give you some advice, bastard. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you." He said before taking his leave.

Jon stopped him though, asking, "What the hell do you know about being a bastard?"

Tyrion turned, facing him again and simply replied, "All dwarves are bastards in their fathers' eyes." He took another drink of his ale before walking away.

Sighing, Jon walked back over to the fencing dummy and picked up his sword.

But before he could return to his practice, he saw movement at the corner of his eye.

He turned and saw Jocelyn standing a short distance away.

Was she there the entire time?

Even though it was dark, there was still enough light in the courtyard for Jon to make out the hurt expression on her face.

Jocelyn stared at him for a long moment, then looked away from him before returning inside.

Jon wondered if she heard his conversation with his Uncle, or Tyrion. Either way, it didn't matter right now. He had some anger he needed to vent.

He tightened his grip around his sword and unleashed that anger on the fencing dummy.

* * *

 **Authors Notes: I wanted to at least get to where Bran fell but that didn't end up happening, and I really wanted to just get this over and done with so I just stopped there. The chapters title is supposed to reflect how it mostly focuses on the Starks, in case anyone was wondering. I'll try and make the next chapter a little more progressive, unless, some or most of you prefer stories taking their time. And yes, I have full intention of sticking to one of Game of Thrones' golden rules, which is nobody is safe. Rest assured, I'm not afraid to kill off characters where it's necessary. We'll get there very soon.**

 **On that note, I might as well call this a casting call at this point, as I'm looking for a strong and kind female OC for House Dayne, and a learning younger brother OC, also of House Dayne. The characters in particular will not show up right away this early in the story, but they'll be referenced for later appearances. As usual, send me a PM of your character. And one character per person please. I want to give plenty of people a chance to have fun with the story.**

 **As usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	3. The Young Stag

**The last chapter was to mainly put focus on the Starks, let's be real, they're practically the main characters, until, stuff happens. That said I feel I should've given some time to Derek in the last chapter, and since it didn't happen, I'm going to do it right now in this chapter. Writing the last chapter as long as it was, was kind of difficult, but there are people that like to read chapters as long as that, and there are people that prefer short chapters that can be posted much quicker. I can't really do both, all I can do is try and find a middle to go with.**

 **I'm still accepting characters to serve smaller roles, which could become main roles later in the story, depending on who dies.**

 ** ** ** ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury.**********

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 3:  
'The Young Stag'********

 ** ** ** **The North, Winterfell********

The banquet had been finished for some time now before Ned Stark and his wife retired to their chambers, as did everyone else who was either too tired or too drunk to stay awake.

Unsurprisingly, Robert had drank himself to sleep and had to be helped to his bed.

But despite everyone retiring to their own rooms, there were still a couple of individuals present in the hall.

Derek Baratheon to be more precise, who was seated at a small tidy table currently reading through a book, and Ser Barristan Selmy, who was standing by his side.

The young Prince had to admit, he was surprised the man hadn't grown tired himself yet, but then that was to be expected of a Kingsguard, especially one like Ser Barristan.

When people slowly started leaving the banquet hall one after the other, it was only after his father and mother had left that Derek decided to sit and return to his studies.

His Uncle Stannis had told him that it was an important requirement to learn all he could, whether it was about the Seven Kingdoms or about the burdens and challenges of ruling them as King.

Not that Derek had to worry about that of course.

Joffrey was his older brother, so by right, he would be the one to become King after their father.

A part of Derek felt, somewhat jealous of this, and a little concerned.

He knew what Joffrey was like, better than anyone else, so he couldn't help but feel concerned about what kind of King his brother would be.

But, surely he couldn't be that bad, right?

Derek couldn't tell, he really couldn't.

He hoped that, maybe if he was lucky, Joffrey would understand the serious duties of being a King and would treat it accordingly.

That was wishful thinking, but hoping was all he could do.

He was so busy deep in thought that he hadn't even realised his eyes were growing heavy, and he started nodding off.

"My Prince, you should retire to your chambers for tonight." Ser Barristan said.

Derek shook his head, rubbing his eyes before returning to his book. "Not yet Ser Barristan, I have to at least finish two more pages. Uncle Stannis said that keeping to a schedule helps keep one from being overwhelmed by stress."

Ser Barristan couldn't help but chuckle in response. "I think sleep deprivation is something to be more concerned about than stress, my Prince. I understand your desire to learn, but don't think you would be disappointing anyone if you made an exception now and then. Especially if it concerned your health."

The Prince looked up at the man for a long moment, and then returned to his book. "...Why do you have to, always be right?"

"I'm not always right, my Prince." Ser Barristan smiled a little. "Though I imagine there are many men and women in the Seven Kingdoms that wish they were so."

Derek was silent for a moment as he turned the page of the book, giving it a brief read before asking, "What do you think of the Starks?"

Ser Barristan looked down at him, curious. "The Starks, my Prince?"

When the Prince nodded, Ser Barristan added, "Well, I've met Lord Eddard before, he's a good man, and his wife, Lady Catelyn is a kind woman, they're very likeable people."

Derek continued to read through the page as he replied, "Did you see Lord Stark's eldest daughter? She was so, pretty."

"Don't be afraid to say what you mean, my Prince." Ser Barristan smiled.

Derek swallowed, wondering how the Kingsguard could always see through him. "...Beautiful, she was so beautiful. Even more than my own mother."

The Prince stopped for a moment, then looked up slightly at the man next to him. "D-Don't tell mother I said that."

"My lips are sealed." Ser Barristan smiled.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Derek then added, "I heard some people say she's the spitting image of Lyanna Stark. Now I see why father is always sad whenever he thinks of her..."

Ser Barristan just stared at him, silent.

"A-Anyway, I um...I met the other Stark children during the banquet. They're really friendly." Derek said. "Bran and Rickon were fun to talk to, and Arya, she was, interesting, before she got sent to bed for throwing food at her sister. I didn't really get a chance to talk to the others though."

The Kingsguard then asked, "Why not?"

Derek sighed in response. "Mother. She wanted me by her side because she didn't want me getting too friendly with them. She said that there was no point in getting to know them because it was unlikely that I'd be seeing them again when we return to King's Landing."

"That sounds like her." Ser Barristan chuckled.

The Prince rolled his eyes and returned to his book. "I'm surprised Uncle Raymond left Casterly Rock just to join us on our way here. Does he know the Starks?"

Ser Barristan shook his head. "Not necessarily. I imagine the only real reason he came, besides being here for his family, was to keep an eye on his brother."

Derek laughed a little, "Ser Barristan, I know Uncle Tyrion can be, well, mischievous sometimes, but not so much that Uncle Raymond has to keep an eye on him."

"Not Lord Tyrion, Ser Jaime." The Kingsguard said.

The Prince's smile lowered, and he looked confused now. "What do you mean?"

Ser Barristan thought for a moment, trying to think of a nice way to put his response, but ultimately decided on, "I think that's a topic better left for another day, my Prince. It's already late, you should finish your studies and retire to your room."

Derek was going to press for an answer, but he recalled his Uncle Stannis telling him once that if someone is unwilling to continue a conversation on a particular subject, it's better to leave it until that person is ready to talk about it.

And so he decided to just leave it for now.

Upon making it to the last page, he told the Kingsguard, "Ser Barristan, why don't you go and get some rest too."

Ser Barristan however didn't look too sure of the suggestion however. "My Prince, I don't think I should leave you by yourself."

Derek looked up at him, replying, "You should look after your health too Ser Barristan. Don't worry, I'm almost finished, once this page is done, I'll head right to my room, promise."

The Kingsguard looked reluctant to obey, but the pleading smile on the Prince's face eventually made him relent. "Very well. Right to your room, I'll be waiting there. Don't forget." He said, reminding the Prince of that.

"I won't." Derek said.

With that, Ser Barristan departed, leaving Derek alone in the hall.

The black-haired Prince was grateful to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. The man was loyal, honest and kind, and he was best swordsman in the Seven Kingdoms, better than even his Uncle Jaime. At least, that was his opinion.

Of course there were some who thought that Jaime was the best swordsman in the land, but that was debatable.

Besides his Uncle Jaime, Ser Barristan and Ser Arys Oakheart, Derek really couldn't say he was fond of any of his fathers Kingsguard.

Ser Meryn Trant was a cunt, there was no other way to put it and Derek mentally chastised himself for such language, even though it was true. Ser Boros Blount, along with Ser Mandon Moore and Ser Preston Greenfield were just as bad in their own ways, and Derek didn't really believe they were as good as they made themselves out to be.

If it were up to him, he'd have selected only the best fighters in the Seven Kingdoms to serve as the Kingsguard.

Names like Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne, if only the Martells didn't hate them.

His Uncle Raymond Lannister, were it not for the fact that his grandfather needed Raymond to serve as the heir to House Lannister.

One or both of the Clegane brothers. Despite the horrific things the eldest brother had done, there was no denying his skills as a warrior.

The eldest daughter of House Dayne was so skilled with a sword, Derek had heard that she was potentially as good as her Uncle, Ser Arthur Dayne himself.

Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, was just as good as his Uncle Jaime, from what Derek heard.

And from what he heard around Winterfell, Jon Snow was a rather brilliant fighter, and Derek didn't doubt that for a second upon seeing him for the first time.

But then, Derek could see the problems with those selections. The Martells hated them, his Uncle Raymond was needed by his grandfather and his Uncle Jaime was already a part of the Kingsguard, and the Clegane brothers, especially Gregor The Mountain, was just too dangerous.

The eldest daughter of House Dayne, who resembled her late aunt, Ashara Dayne, was beautiful and skilled at sword fighting the Prince heard, but it seemed unlikely she'd accept a position in the Kingsguard to serve the same man who rebelled against the previous King whom her Uncle served.

Which left Jon Snow and Loras Tyrell, the former who Derek didn't really know much about yet. All he did know however, was that Jon Snow was Ned Stark's bastard, and he wasn't completely sure if bastards were allowed to join the Kingsguard.

And he wasn't sure about Loras Tyrell either, as he hadn't even met the man yet.

He'd have to check his books again once he returned to King's Landing.

"Ok, maybe finding suitable Kingsguard isn't as easy as I thought." Derek muttered to himself as he finished the last page of his book.

After he had closed the book, Derek got to his feet and turned to leave.

Only to bump right into Jocelyn Stark.

"Oh! Sorry about that!" The eldest Stark daughter laughed.

Derek shook his head and looked up at her, "N-No, I should've watched where I was going...um, what were you doing just standing there anyway?"

Jocelyn smiled a little, replying, "I passed by Ser Barristan on my way to my room. He asked me if I could make sure you didn't have any trouble finding your way to your room. You seemed to be very focused on that last page of the book though, so I didn't want to disturb you."

"Of course he did, because he just can't let me be by myself for just a second, can he?" Derek said, struggling to hold back a chuckle.

The eldest Stark daughter raised a brow at him. "You're the Prince, and he's the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. It's his duty to have your safety and wellbeing in mind."

Derek rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm aware of that Lady Jocelyn." He was silent for a moment, looking at her and once again remembering why his father was so filled with grief whenever he remembered Lyanna Stark.

If he was betrothed to such a beautiful woman, only to have her stolen away from him, and then find out she had died, he too would be greatly filled with sorrow.

"My Prince, you're staring." Jocelyn said, feeling a little embarrassed.

Derek mentally slapped himself and shook his head, quickly replying, "S-Sorry! I'll head right to my room now!" He said before walking off.

Before he could get far though, Jocelyn stopped him. "My Prince."

The Prince stopped and looked back at her, the eldest Stark daughter pointing in the opposite direction. "Your room is this way."

Derek nodded and started making his way in the other direction, "I um, I knew that."

Jocelyn followed right behind him, just to make sure he went the right way.

And found the right room.

"Everyone says you're the spitting image of Lyanna Stark." Derek said quietly.

The eldest Stark daughter nodded with a calm response. "Everyone indeed."

Derek looked up at her as they walked, adding, "They call you the 'Ghost of Lyanna Stark' as well."

"They do." Jocelyn replied calmly again, smiling at him.

The Prince started to get a little confused, and asked her, "Doesn't it bother you? At all? Doesn't it bother you that your own father often mistakes you for his sister?"

Jocelyn replied with a small shake of her head. "Not at all. It did at first, but at this point, it's happened so many times that I'm more than used to it."

Derek nodded, "I, guess that's a fair point."

As they walked on, Derek then proceeded to ask, "My brother Joffrey is to marry your sister, Sansa. If Lord Stark accepts and becomes the new Hand of the King."

"That is what will happen if he does, yes." Jocelyn replied.

The Prince looked up at her again, and curiously asked, "What do you think about it? I mean, what are your thoughts on the whole thing?"

Jocelyn's smile lowered a little, but it was so subtle that Derek didn't notice. "Truthfully, I'm not exactly confident about the arrangement. But it's not my place to question it. If father accepts the position of Hand of the King, then it's his decision to make, I will support him the best I can no matter what. And the same goes for Sansa, I will support her in any way I can."

Derek smiled a little at her reply. "You didn't take long to form that response."

The eldest Stark daughter smiled in return. "I tend to make sure I always get a head start at everything I can. Conversations on topics such as this happen to be one of them."

"So, you're good at reading people I take it?" Derek asked.

Jocelyn shrugged a little. "Somewhat."

Derek laughed a little. "Right, whatever you say, Lady Jocelyn."

Eventually, the two finally arrived at Derek's room.

They could easily tell the room was his just by the mere presence of Ser Barristan Selmy standing outside the door waiting for them.

Jocelyn smiled at the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard as they approached him, and said, "I found your Prince, Ser."

Ser Barristan returned her smile with a kind one of his own, replying, "Much appreciated Lady Jocelyn."

Jocelyn bowed her head to Derek, adding, "Have a good night my Prince. Sleep well." She said before taking her leave.

As Derek and the Kingsguard watched her leave, the Prince asked, "Ser Barristan, was Lyanna Stark just like her?"

Ser Barristan watched as Jocelyn started to disappear from their view, replying, "I only met Lord Eddard's sister a few times but, yes. She is very much just like her aunt. If I hadn't known what became of her, I'd swear she was Lyanna Stark."

Derek looked on even though the eldest Stark daughter was no longer in sight, and quietly replied, "Yeah, I really can see why my father loved her so much."

The Kingsguard looked down at him, curious.

But before he could continue the conversation any further, Derek turned and opened the door to his room.

"Are you sure you'll be okay standing out here by yourself?" The Prince asked. "Won't you be tired?"

Ser Barristan smiled at him in response. "I appreciate your concern, my Prince. But don't worry, I'm not that old yet."

"I...I never said anything about your age..." Derek replied, looking confused now.

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard nodded and nudged the Prince into his room. "Good, try and keep it that way would you?"

Before Derek could respond, Ser Barristan closed the door on him.

* * *

Morning had arrived faster than some would have liked.

And while some had woken up feeling refreshed, others woke up with headaches and simply wanted to return to their beds.

Unfortunately, only a few had that luxury, and Tyrion Lannister was not one of them when he realised he had to go out hunting alongside the King.

Once news quickly spread that Ned had agreed to become Robert's new Hand of the King, the latter wanted to celebrate with a hunt, so naturally some of them had to join him.

Ned Stark however was burdened by news he had received last night.

Catelyn had received a letter from her sister Lysa Arryn.

And in the letter, Lysa had told her sister that Jon Arryn was murdered by the Lannister's, and that the King was in danger.

Though Ned tried to claim her sisters words were probably false due to Jon Arryn's passing still being so recent, Catelyn stated that her sister would never risk her or her children's lives unless she was absolutely certain.

It was this news that had pushed Ned into considering the position, and Maester Luwin had brought up a valid point that Ned was the only one Robert could trust.

For his friend, and for Jon Arryn, he had to accept.

Joining them for the hunt was Ned's eldest son Robb, and Theon Greyjoy. Jocelyn also desired to join them on the hunt, having already prepared her own horse ahead of time.

Ned was going to protest, but Jocelyn insisted that she be allowed to watch them hunt.

When Robert made it clear he wasn't against it, Ned allowed his eldest daughter to accompany them.

The only one from Robert's family who joined them was Derek, who only wanted to come along to watch how his father hunts, and maybe learn himself. Naturally, Ser Barristan and a couple of other Kingsguard had to accompany them as well, along with men from each of their own Household guard.

Once they had packed everything they needed, the hunting party departed Winterfell.

Raymond Lannister, who had watched them leave, noticed Bran Stark not far away, also watching them leave, before the boy ran off to play with his Direwolf pup, Summer.

For a moment, Raymond looked on in the direction the Stark boy had went, and debated on whether he should follow him or not, mostly curious about the Direwolf pup.

Ultimately, he decided to just leave the boy alone. It wasn't his business what the Stark did, he was only going to play after all, what else could he do?

* * *

It was a successful hunt.

Ned had indeed proven that, though he wasn't as good with a spear as he used to be, he was still better than Robert.

Robb and Jocelyn complimented their father on his hunting skills, and though he showed some gratitude to their praise, it didn't escape Jocelyn's attention that there was something weighing on their fathers mind.

The Lord of Winterfell however was doing a good job at masking his worry, and whenever Jocelyn tried to start up a conversation with him about it on their way home, he would always manage to avoid the subject.

Robert joked with his son Derek that he was being easy on the boars, and, like the naïve boy he tends to be sometimes, especially when it comes to his own father, Derek believed him immediately, telling Ned that he got lucky today.

That comment managed to get a smile out of the new Hand of the King.

Derek wanted to see Ser Barristan with a spear, but the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard politely refused, simply stating that he preferred a sword rather than a spear.

Obviously the Prince wasn't happy that he didn't get to see his teacher and mentor hunt with a spear, but he didn't complain. He was tempted to ask if it had anything to do with the mans age, but he knew better than to tease the Kingsguard like that.

Either way, the Prince was just happy that he got to see his father hunt, even if the King turned it into a competition and lost against his new Hand. It was embarrassing at first, but Robert simply laughed in the end, like he always did.

Suffice to say, everyone was satisfied with how the hunt went, and they were in a rather good mood.

Robert got his new Hand, Ned showed he was still superior than Robert at hunting, and they were all able to return to Winterfell just in time to cook their dinner.

However, upon their return at Winterfell, they found Raymond Lannister in the middle of an investigation.

When Ned and the others asked what happened, they discovered that an unexpected tragedy had occurred during their absence.

Bran had fallen from a tower.

* * *

 **Authors Notes: And that's where I'm going to leave it for now. It will be explained in the next chapter why Raymond is assuming someone tried to kill Bran, although chances are you might already know. Will he find the culprit, and will finding the culprit change everything? Maybe, maybe not, that will be answered in the next chapter.**

 **Now you probably noticed the mention of Arys Oakheart, and the others, that's mainly because unlike the show, I'm actually going to make use of book characters here and there that didn't make into the show. Plus, there's some characters I actually HAVE to use if the story is going to work out the way I'm planning it. That's not to say I'm going to follow the books, obviously I'm following the show, but like I said before, I'm going to use parts from the books as well, some of the good and better parts. Like the Dorne storyline and the Greyjoys, the latter who will play a more active role in the war this time.**

 **As usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Siblings

**This chapter took a bit longer than usual because I was away from home for a good few days and unfortunately the relative I was visiting didn't have a spare computer or laptop for me to borrow to continue my work. Now I could have brought my own laptop, but I was under the impression that I didn't need to so I left it, a mistake I will make sure won't happen again.  
**

 **On that note, I decided to put a Poll up on my profile, which character do you think Derek Baratheon should be paired up with when he comes of age? Take a short minute to go to my profile and vote, and, who knows, maybe the result will ultimately decide what happens later in the story. That, and Polls are fun, so why not.  
**

 ** ** ** ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury, Lewyn Sand belongs to MineyMo.**********

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 4:  
'Siblings'********

 ** ** ** **Essos********

Daenerys Targaryen had been introduced to Khal Drogo, and the Dothraki warlord of his Khalasar had accepted his new bride as Viserys Targaryen had hoped.

Various gifts were presented to the two during the wedding, it was also where Viserys had met Ser Jorah Mormont, a knight from Westeros, more specifically, Bear Island, the home of House Mormont. He had also met the sixteen year old young man, Lewyn Sand, the only bastard son of Prince Oberyn Martell of House Martell, the ruling House of Dorne and one of the Great Houses of Westeros.

Ser Jorah presented Daenerys with books, Songs and Histories of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, a gift she was more than happy to receive, while Lewyn Sand presented her with his services, pledging his allegiance to her and her brother.

While the new Khaleesi was happy to accept his services, Viserys was far more satisfied to know there were still those in the Seven Kingdoms who were loyal to his family's House, and of course, he let this knowledge go to his head.

Among Daenerys' other gifts were three dragon eggs from Magister Illyrio Mopatis, which had been turned to stone by the passage of time, and a white mare by Khal Drogo. While there was nothing she could really do with the dragon eggs, she was very grateful for the mare that her husband had gifted her, and she didn't waste any time using her new gift as they began travelling to Vaes Dothrak.

During their travel, it didn't escape Jorah's attention that Daenerys was struggling to adapt to her new role as a Khaleesi, and the knight from Bear Island had to reassure her that it would get easier overtime.

Daenerys wanted to believe him, but she wasn't so sure. Given how fierce of a man Khal Drogo looked, she wouldn't be surprised if things got difficult over the course of their relationship.

She hoped with all her heart that it wouldn't though. It was already difficult enough, and if it got harder as time went on, she was afraid she would simply end up taking a dagger and ending her life in the middle of the night. Of course, that's what some women had done when their marriages got too difficult for them, Viserys had told her.

Although that was probably just another one of his many attempts to frighten her.

Soon enough, they found themselves stopping to make camp for the night.

Jorah assisted the new Khaleesi off of her horse before letting the handmaidens escort her away, knowing they would take very good care of her if she needed anything.

As he approached, Lewyn Sand noticed Daenerys' shivering hands as the handmaidens tended to her, and asked Ser Jorah, "Will she be okay?"

The knight simply replied, "It's her first time riding a horse I imagine. It's not easy, especially when you're travelling a long way, but yes, she'll be fine."

"I mean with Khal Drogo." Lewyn added. "You've seen what he looks like. He's a beast of a man, I can't imagine it's easy for her being his wife."

Jorah took a moment to study the young man now that he had a better look at him. He was indeed from Dorne, he had the olive skin that all Dornishmen had, and he shared a slight resemblance to his father, Oberyn Martell. Jorah didn't know this for sure as he was simply going by what he heard when Lewyn was speaking with Viserys not long after they left Pentos.

He was a few inches shorter than Viserys himself, and his young face and very slim physique made him stand out somewhat, making Jorah wonder if it was safe for the young man to be around people like the Dothraki.

He shared his fathers brown eyes and had neck length dark brownish hair, which was originally longer until his mother suggested cutting it simply because she didn't want him to be mistaken for a girl. Though he thought the idea was absurd, Lewyn did as he was told anyway.

As one would expect, he inherited some of his fathers good looks, otherwise he wouldn't have been receiving a few stares from the handmaidens. Whether it was his young face, or the scar on his cheek, he couldn't say, but Lewyn didn't seem to pay them any mind.

"She'll get used to it eventually." Jorah then replied, confident in his answer. "She may seem like she's struggling now, but she will get used to it."

Before Lewyn could respond, Viserys approached and interrupted them. "She's going to have to get used to it. Much is expected of her, and she better not disappoint."

Jorah then turned his full attention towards the elder Targaryen sibling, replying, "We're still not far from Pentos, your grace. Master Illyrio has extended his hospitality. You'd be more comfortable there."

Viserys looked amused at his suggestion however, and simply said, "I have no interest in hospitality or comfort. I'll stay with Drogo until he fulfils his end of the bargain and I have my crown."

Seeing that Viserys was standing by his decision, Jorah didn't bother pressing the topic any further than necessary and nodded. "As you wish, your grace."

"Well, Mormont, as brutish as this life is, I suppose it is preferable to beheading." Viserys replied, staring at the knight for a brief moment, before asking, "What did Ned Stark want you for? Buying from a slaver?"

Despite wanting to forget about it, Jorah felt the need to be honest and decided to answer. "Selling to one. Some poachers I caught on my land."

Viserys couldn't help but chuckle at the knights short explanation. "Under my reign, you won't be punished for such nonsense. You can rest assured of that."

As he began to walk away, Viserys then called Lewyn over, "Sand, a word."

Lewyn exchanged a glance with Jorah before following the Targaryen. "Yes, your grace?"

"How many fighting men can Dorne spare?" Viserys asked. "Khal Drogo commands forty thousand men, but I'm assuming I will need more if I want to conquer all of the Seven Kingdoms."

The young man was unsure how to answer, and carefully responded, "I...couldn't say for sure, your grace. I regret to say that I'm not exactly a military man yet, but as far as I'm aware, Dorne's military strength is at least roughly equal to that of the North and the Vale."

Viserys looked at him curiously, processing what he said before replying, "Very well. What is the military strength of the North and the Vale then?"

Lewyn took a moment to answer that question. Though he wasn't a military man yet, he did learn whatever he could about the Seven Kingdoms. His older cousin Arianne Martell had told him once that knowledge is power, and he was eager to learn whatever he could so that he could use his knowledge to help his family.

"I believe both the North and the Vale are capable of raising as many as forty-five thousand soldiers. I'm not one hundred percent sure, your grace, but that is my best assumption." Lewyn explained.

The eldest Targaryen sibling didn't look too pleased with his answer however. "Would I be correct in assuming the other Kingdoms can raise just as many if not more?"

A nod was Lewyn's response. "Yes, your grace."

Once more, Viserys didn't look too pleased. "Well, I guess I'll just have to tell Drogo to gather more men to his side."

"If you believe that is the best course of action, your grace." Lewyn said with a bow of his head.

Viserys stared at him for a moment, and proceeded to ask, "Why are you here? You said you came here to make sure we were aware that we still had allies in Westeros, but why you exactly? Why didn't Prince Doran or his brother Prince Oberyn come themselves?"

Lewyn could guess the kind of assumption the Targaryen was about to make and quickly responded, "My Uncle Doran's health forces him to remain in Sunspear, as for my father, Oberyn, well, he's rather, difficult to make requests of. So I volunteered to come here myself."

After giving the response some thought, Viserys chuckled. "Ah, I see now. You came here of your own free will, because when I take the Iron Throne, you'll be expecting me to reward your loyalty."

The young man was tempted to reply, but chose not to. Viserys then added, "A reward like, say, a legitimization. Am I right?"

Those words caught Lewyn's attention, and the hopeful glint in his eyes didn't escape Viserys' notice, prompting the Targaryen to smirk at him. "Well rest assured my friend, once I take back the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms, you will be rewarded accordingly for your loyalty."

Lewyn then bowed his head deeply, and replied, "Thank you, your grace."

As he looked back up however, Viserys was already walking away, seemingly not interested in his gratitude.

This action earned a subtle frown from the young man, and his gratitude was gone in an instant.

* * *

 **The North, Winterfell**

Things began to calm down again when the King and Ned Stark returned from their hunt.

While everyone shared the same opinion that Bran had fallen from the tower, the only one who had a different opinion was Raymond Lannister.

Before his investigation, Raymond had heard that the Stark boy was a really good climber, and that he had done it many times before. And each of those times, he had not fallen once.

It was based on this information that Raymond decided to investigate. Of course, he hadn't told anyone of his assumption yet that someone could have pushed Bran from the tower, but that was the only logical assumption to make. If he just outright told everyone that someone was responsible for Bran's fall, people would start pointing fingers at each other, and there was no telling what kind of mess it would start, and he really couldn't afford that at the moment.

He mentally cursed himself for not following the boy earlier.

If he had then he may have been able to stop Bran's fall. It was because of this, that he felt somewhat responsible and wanted to do what he could to make up for his mistake.

He had spoken with quite a few people so far, trying to get what information he could. Who was where? When were they there? Why were they there? Trying to find out everything he could that would narrow down the list of suspects and hopefully lead him to whoever might have been responsible.

As one would expect, some people were frightened and nervous because of his 'interrogations' and Raymond was well aware of this, but he did try his best to make it seem like that wasn't the case. But being a Lannister and the brother of the Queen didn't exactly help convince those he had spoken with.

Of course, Raymond's investigation didn't last long after the King and Ned Stark returned from their hunt.

While understanding that Raymond only had good intentions, Ned Stark ultimately believed, like everyone else, that Bran had fallen from the tower, and asked the Lannister to cease his investigation.

Raymond wanted to protest against it, but knew he couldn't argue against the Lord of Winterfell, and it being Ned Stark himself, Raymond decided to relent and reluctantly stopped his investigation completely.

Another morning had come as he joined his siblings for lunch, so deep in his own thoughts that he was completely oblivious to the wary glances he was receiving from his elder brother and sister. He tried, of course, to muster up a smile for Myrcella and Tommen, who was eating with them, but failed to do so.

The entire time, they were mostly silent, but Cersei and Jaime would sometimes glance at their brother and try to start up a conversation that wasn't related to Bran's accident. Raymond would either hum in response or simply nod or shake his head.

Soon enough, Tyrion had joined them and easily lightened the mood and brought smiles to Myrcella and Tommen's faces.

"Little brother." Jaime said, greeting his brother.

Tyrion lifted Tommen over a little, sitting himself between his nephew and Jaime before helping himself to the food on the table. "Beloved siblings."

"Is Bran going to die?" Myrcella asked with concern.

The dwarf looked between his niece and nephew before replying, "Apparently not."

While the children looked relieved, Cersei had a subtle look of concern on her face. "What do you mean?"

"The maester said the boy may live." Tyrion replied, taking a drink from his cup.

Jaime slowly turned and stared at his sister, the latter who was struggling to keep her concerned expression hidden.

The Queen then replied, "It's no mercy, letting a child linger in such pain."

"Only the gods know for certain. All the rest of us can do is pray." Tyrion said taking little rest to grab hold of whatever he can get his hands on to eat. "The charms of the North seem entirely lost on you."

Cersei looked rather amused at his response. "I still can't believe you're going. It's ridiculous, even for you."

"Where's your sense of wonder?" Tyrion asked, adding, "The greatest structure ever built, the intrepid men of the Night's Watch. The wintry abode of the White Walkers." He said the last part while joking a scary tone to Tommen, who backed away and laughed a little at his Uncles humour.

Jaime then replied, "Tell me you're not thinking of taking the black."

Those words caught Raymond's attention, prompting him to glance over slightly at them.

"And go celibate? The whores would go begging from Dorne to Casterly Rock." Tyrion replied, much to Jaime's amusement, and Cersei's apparent disappointment. "No, I just want to stand on top of The Wall and piss off the edge of the world.

Tommen continued to laugh at his Uncles words, until Cersei spoke up again. "The children don't need to hear your filth."

Tyrion simply smiled over at Myrcella, who smiled in response, the latter seemingly not bothered at all by his choice of words.

"Come." Cersei said as she got out of her seat and started to leave.

Myrcella and Tommen got up and followed their mother out of the hall, leaving the three Lannister brothers alone.

Tyrion glanced over at Raymond and said, "You have to stop being so hard on yourself over things that are out of your control Raymond."

Raymond glanced over at Tyrion again, frowning at his words. "Things I could have prevented mind you. Lives I could have saved."

"...You're still thinking about that?" Tyrion asked, looking a little concerned now, while Jaime kept silent, knowing full well what Raymond was referring to.

Instead of replying, Raymond took a drink from his cup. Tyrion then added, "What happened to Elia Martell, and her children, was not your fault. Whether you could have prevented it or not, it doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past, you need to move on."

Raymond looked at his brother for a moment, and then sighed. "I saw the Stark boy run off with his Direwolf. If I had simply followed him, then perhaps I could have prevented his fall."

"No one could have predicted an accident like that brother." Tyrion replied. "Don't take responsibility for that either, it was out of your control just as much as it was anyone else's. I'm sure there are plenty of people here who feel they should have kept an eye on the boy and wish they could have prevented his fall."

Jaime then decided to speak up. "Even if the boy lives, he'll be a cripple, a grotesque. Give me a good, clean death any day." He said before taking a drink.

Tyrion didn't seem to share his opinion however. "Speaking for the grotesques, I'd have to disagree. Death is so final, whereas life, ah, life is full of possibilities." He replied, adding, "I hope the boy does wake. I'd be very interested to hear what he has to say."

While his response caught Raymond's attention, Jaime seemed a little concerned. "My dear brother, there are times you make me wonder whose side you're on."

"My dear brother, you wound me. You know how much I love my family." Tyrion said in response as he continued to eat and drink.

Jaime and Raymond just stared at him, very different thoughts running through their minds.

Soon enough, the middle son got up and left, leaving the other two alone.

"Pass me his bowl will you brother?"

* * *

When they had returned from the hunt, it was expected that Ned, Robb and Jocelyn would be in shock over the news of Bran's fall.

The rest of the Stark siblings were just as in shock as everyone else.

Just like all the others, they were of the opinion that Bran was a good climber, and he had never fallen once before.

Rickon was sad and Arya was shocked, and Sansa tried to pretend that he would be alright so she could continue to think about Joffrey.

While Robb and Jon kept an eye on the rest of their siblings, Jocelyn was with their mother watching over Bran.

Given how stressed Catelyn looked, Jocelyn wanted to do whatever she could to make it easier on her mother.

Soon enough Jocelyn decided to go and fetch some food and water for her mother, as the latter was neglecting to eat and drink, and the responsible Stark daughter could not allow that.

As she was on her way to retrieve some food and water, she decided to stop by the tower where Bran had fallen.

Maybe she could take a look and find the exact spot Bran had fallen from, and hopefully find the cause of his fall.

She didn't expect to see the Prince Derek Baratheon there however.

The Prince was simply looking around, examining the tower carefully as if trying to find something out of place.

When Jocelyn approached, Derek took his attention off of the tower and turned to face her. "Lady Jocelyn."

"Prince Derek." Jocelyn replied with half a smile. "What are you up to?"

The Baratheon boy looked up at the tower, and quietly replied, "Nothing. Just thought I'd take a look and see how far Bran had fallen. It's very high up, but I believe he'll survive. A fall like that won't kill someone."

Jocelyn raised a brow at him, and curiously asked, "How can you tell?"

"I have a good eye for these things." Derek smiled at her, but when he saw the unconvinced look on her face, he laughed a little. "S-Sorry. I um, I heard Maester Luwin say he would live, but there was a, likely chance that, he'll never walk again."

The words caused Jocelyn to be filled with grief, to know that her baby brother may never walk again caused her nothing but heartbreak.

Derek was able to make out the subtle look of grief that Jocelyn was trying to hide, and added, "I'm sorry, you probably already knew, and the last thing you need is me reminding you."

Jocelyn shook her head, and replied, "It's fine, don't worry about it, my Prince."

Before either could say another word, someone approached them.

The two faced the new arrival and Derek was the first to speak. "Uncle Raymond!"

Raymond Lannister nodded at his nephew with a little smile. "Nephew. You should go and find your father, we're going to be leaving for King's Landing soon."

"Ok." Derek replied before going to leave, but stopped. He turned and looked up at Jocelyn again, and told her, "Your brother will wake up soon, I'm sure he will."

Jocelyn smiled at him. "Your optimism is most appreciated, my Prince."

Derek smiled at her once more before taking his leave.

When Jocelyn turned and faced the Lannister, she caught him eyeing the tower.

Raymond caught her stare however and took his eyes off of the tower to face her.

For a moment, he wanted to speak his mind to her on the accident, but ultimately decided not to.

The Lion took his leave also, leaving the wolf alone by herself.

As soon as he was gone, Jocelyn looked back up at the tower again and thought back to her brother.

Could he really have fallen from there? He was an excellent climber after all, and he climbed around this area many times before.

It just didn't make sense that he would suddenly fall like that. Bran would never be that careless, he was always careful and Jocelyn knew it.

The only other logical conclusion was one Jocelyn didn't want to consider out of fear of it being true.

"Was he...was he pushed?"

If he was, the Stark daughter swore to herself that she would find out.

And kill the one responsible.

* * *

 **Authors Notes: Next chapter, is where things will start to speed up. Can't say for sure but things should pick up now that everyone will be moving to King's Landing. Now the only the question is how differently things will play out on the Kingsroad, I believe that's what the next chapter will be answering. And yes, there will be an explanation to Raymond's connection with Elia Martell and the Sack of King's Landing. I'm not sure if it'll be next chapter, but I'll see what I can do.  
**

 **I'm also still looking for a strong and kind female OC for House Dayne who can fight as good as Ser Arthur Dayne for the upcoming Hand's tourney, and a learning younger brother also for House Dayne. If anyone has one, preferably the first, feel free to PM me your character.**

 **And as usual,** **feel free to leave a Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	5. The Two Princes

**I was originally just going to write each episode into entire chapters, but since that's clearly not happened, and since I already tried and failed at that then I've just decided to continue as I am. As I said before, there will be time jumps here and there for the sake of story progression, but there won't really be anything important or major events getting skipped anyway.  
**

 **Also the role for a strong and kind female OC of House Dayne has been filled, I'm still looking for a learning younger brother OC also of House Dayne, so if you'd like to fill that role, as usual, just send me a Private Message.**

 ** ** ** ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury.**********

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 5:  
'The Two Princes'********

 ** ** ** **The North, Winterfell********

It was almost time to depart for King's Landing and everyone was wasting little time getting their things packed and saying their goodbyes.

Not everyone was heading South however.

A certain few were instead going North, their reasons were different however.

While Tyrion was simply going to see The Wall, Jon Snow was going to join the Night's Watch.

There were mixed reactions to Jon's decision from his siblings, but Ned Stark nonetheless allowed it.

Jon had already said his goodbyes to Rickon and Sansa, the latter who didn't seem to be acknowledging him much, and gifted Arya her sword, Needle, before saying his goodbyes to her too.

Then came the more, difficult goodbyes.

Even though Bran wasn't awake to speak to him, Jon nonetheless wanted to say goodbye to him anyway, the only obstacle he worried about being Catelyn herself.

Thankfully he was able to say what he wanted before Catelyn demanded him to leave, passing by his father on his way out of the room. For a moment, he dared to listen in as Catelyn spoke to Ned about how he rode off with Robert Baratheon seventeen years ago, and returned a year later with another woman's son.

Jon himself.

He understood her grief, of course, and he didn't hate her for it. And given the current situation with Bran, he wasn't going to hold anything against her, not that he ever did.

Robb was more accepting, thankfully.

"Next time I see you, you'll be all in black." Robb said.

Jon smiled at his half-brother, simply replying, "It was always my colour."

"Farewell Snow."

"And you Stark."

The two then hugged each other, a hug that Jon more than welcomed.

When they pulled away from each other, Robb looked his half-brother in the eyes one more time, before turning and walking away.

Jon watched him leave, and for a moment, wondered when they would see each other again.

As he finished saddling up his horse, Jon was approached from behind. He didn't bother paying much attention to whoever it was, since everyone was already starting to leave, he didn't really want to get left behind.

"Jon."

He turned his full attention on that person however as soon as he heard her voice, and locked eyes with his half-sister Jocelyn. He then looked down at her silver white Direwolf, Winter, who was sitting happily next to Jocelyn's feet.

"Jocelyn." Jon said in response.

The eldest Stark daughter looked at him with a neutral expression, and asked him, "So, are you really going to go through with this then?"

Jon nodded, replying, "I'll find far more success in the Night's Watch than I will here."

Jocelyn frowned a little at him, asking. "So, there's nothing I can say that will change your mind?"

"No. Nothing." Jon said.

The Stark daughter sighed, "Well, you always did stick with your decisions once you made them."

This earned a light chuckle from Jon, who looked his half-sister up and down, noting her sword, blue dress and white fur cloak before asking, "You're dressed for travel. You going to King's Landing as well?"

Jocelyn nodded. "I didn't want to at first, but I changed my mind. I figured maybe I could go down there for a while, and maybe help Sansa and Arya adapt to the city life. And, make sure Arya doesn't cause any trouble, knowing her."

"You've never lived in the city." Jon said as a Stark guard approached them with a horse.

As she climbed up onto the horse, Jocelyn replied, "No, I haven't. And I still know more about it than everyone in Winterfell." She said, smiling a little at him.

Again, Jon couldn't help but chuckle a little at her words. "You never did put those books down." As soon as he climbed up onto his horse, Jon then said to her, "Don't be down there too long, Robb might need some help up here soon."

Jocelyn raised a brow at him, and replied, "Help you could be providing if you weren't heading off to join the Night's Watch." She then chuckled a little, adding, "Well, don't worry, I'll be back home at some point, after all, I know Robb has a temper, and someone will need to help him keep it under control."

The eldest Stark daughter then looked away, looking a little upset now. "It'll be a shame when Bran wakes, and most of us are gone. I can't imagine he'll be too happy about that."

Jon sighed, then offered her a smirk, "I suppose you're right. Guess I better visit as soon as possible then, right?"

"You better." Jocelyn said to him, her mood changing almost instantly as she returned his smirk with one of her own before riding off, Winter following right behind her with Ghost chasing after his Direwolf sister.

Jon laughed a little and rode after her.

* * *

Everyone had finally departed Winterfell.

Robert Baratheon and his family, escorted by Baratheon and Lannister guards, while Ned Stark was not far behind, accompanied by his daughters and escorted by Jory Cassel and fifty of his own household guard.

Alongside him was Jocelyn and Jon, the latter who was following Benjen Stark and Tyrion Lannister to The Wall.

Ned waited until Jon caught up to him before telling him, "There's great honour serving in the Night's Watch. The Starks have manned The Wall for thousands of years." He turned to Jon as Benjen stopped and looked back at them for a moment. "And you are a Stark. You might not have my name, but you have my blood."

Jon looked away for a moment, and replied, "Is my mother alive? Does she know about me? Where I am, where I'm going?" He looked back at his father, and asked, "Does she care?"

Jocelyn watched them carefully when Jon brought up his mother, very curious to hear Ned's response.

Their father didn't try to hide the upset look on his face however, as he replied, "The next time we see each other, we'll talk about your mother. I promise."

Jon, knowing the topic wasn't a happy one for his father to talk about, nodded in response, before watching his father ride off after the others.

Jocelyn looked at him for a moment before reaching out and giving his hand a gentle squeeze, "Goodbye, brother."

Jon gave her hand a gentle squeeze in return, managing a little smile as he replied, "Goodbye, sister."

When the two let go of each others hands, Jon rode off after his Uncle Benjen.

The eldest Stark daughter finally let her tears show as they slid down her cheeks, now that Jon could no longer see them, before riding off after her father, quickly rubbing her eyes dry before she caught up.

Neither of them were aware that this would be the last time Jon and Ned would ever see each other.

* * *

 **The Kingsroad**

The journey to King's Landing so far was nice and peaceful for those who preferred it quiet.

King Robert in particular who was simply enjoying the sights like he always did.

However, during a halt along the way, the peace was almost disturbed when Robert and Ned spoke briefly about Daenerys Targaryen and her marriage to Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord, across the Narrow Sea.

Despite Ned's claims that there was nothing to fear from the Dothraki due to them having no ships, Robert wasn't convinced, claiming there were still those in the Seven Kingdoms who called him Usurper.

It was understandable. Given there were still those in the Seven Kingdoms who continued to see him as a Usurper, it wasn't that far-fetched to think that those same people would take whatever ships they had and use them to ferry the surviving Targaryens and the Dothraki across the Narrow Sea from Essos.

Ned remained firm however, insisting that the Targaryens and the Dothraki would not cross the Narrow Sea, and if by some chance they did, they would simply throw them back into the sea.

Those words seemed to have ended the conversation on the subject, but not before Robert made his thoughts clear on the matter.

"There's a war coming, Ned. I don't know when, I don't know who we'll be fighting, but it's coming."

Whether he should have felt worried and concerned, or confident that nothing would come to pass, Ned wasn't sure.

One thing was for sure though.

If war did come to the Seven Kingdoms, many would die.

* * *

 **The Kingsroad, Crossroads Inn**

The royal party eventually reached the Crossroads Inn where they decided to stop and rest for the day.

At first glance, the entire area almost looked like a military encampment due to the various Stark, Baratheon and Lannister guards that were patrolling around.

Walking amongst them was Prince Derek Baratheon, who had managed to persuade Ser Barristan to let him explore by himself for once.

He had avoided most of the other Kingsguard, minus Ser Arys Oakheart, who he briefly spoke to before continuing on his way.

For the most part, he was bored. Derek had already finished his last book back in Winterfell, and had no others to read, none that interested him anyway. He could have went out hunting with his father, but the King was rather occupied himself and Derek didn't want to disturb his fun so he moved on.

Then, he had bumped into his Uncle Jaime, who asked why he was wandering around by himself. Derek, of course, reasoned that he didn't need Ser Barristan at his side, not when there were plenty of guards patrolling all over the area. Jaime couldn't argue against that fact and decided to leave it be.

Derek then proceeded to ask where his Uncle Raymond was, as he hadn't see him since arriving at the Crossroads Inn.

Jaime explained that Raymond had left to return to Casterly Rock, and when Derek asked why he didn't say goodbye, Jaime simply told him that Raymond was on a tight schedule, and had no time to say goodbye.

Rather than complain or be upset about it, Derek accepted his Uncle's answer, before asking where his siblings were, more specifically, Myrcella and Tommen.

"I think you probably know." Was all Jaime said before taking his leave.

Indeed, Derek already knew as soon as his Uncle said that.

They were with his mother, and his mother would make it very difficult for him if he wanted to drag them off to play.

As he spent a bit of time trying to think of something to do, he then found himself bumping into Arya Stark.

"Oh, s-sorry about that lady Stark." Derek said quickly.

Arya didn't seem to mind however. "It's ok, I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going either."

Derek raised a brow at her choice of words and replied, "Really? But you'd have to be paying attention to have noticed I wasn't paying attention."

The Stark daughter recoiled at his perceptive response, and then laughed. "Ok, you got me. I was kind of hoping to find someone who'd like to practice with these sticks, just for fun. But, since I'm not in Winterfell where I know everyone, there's less people I know who're willing to swing a stick at me. I was going to ask the butcher's boy, until I saw you that is."

"Fewer." Derek said.

Arya tilted her head, giving him a confused stare now. "What?"

"Fewer people, who are willing to swing a stick at you." Derek said a teasing smile.

It took the Stark daughter a moment before she understood the meaning of his response, and chuckled lightly at his correction.

Derek then said, "I study a lot under my Uncle Stannis. Songs and Histories of the Seven Kingdoms aren't the only things I learn when I go to Dragonstone."

Arya nodded in understanding, Derek then asked, "Um...so, would you, like me to practice with you?"

"Sure!" Arya accepted almost immediately, handing the Prince one of her sticks before leading him away where they could practice in private.

* * *

While her sister was away with the Stag Prince, Sansa was walking with her Direwolf Lady, simply getting familiar with the area they were staying in for the day, while also looking for her Lion Prince, Joffrey.

The Stark daughter would have preferred to keep moving until they reached King's Landing, very eager to see the city for herself.

But nonetheless, she accepted that they had to stop and rest, and if she was being honest with herself, a part of her also felt the need to stop and rest for the day as well.

Eventually she was stopped in her tracks by Ser Ilyn Payne, who stared silently at her.

Startled for a brief moment, Sansa then quickly said, "Pardon me, Ser."

A hand on her shoulder forced her to turn around, and she found herself looking up at The Hound.

"Do I frighten you so much, girl? Or is it him there making you shake?" The Hound asked as he looked over at Ilyn Payne.

Ser Ilyn however just stared sternly at them, saying nothing. The Hound then added, "He frightens me too. Look at that face."

Sansa then turned back to the knight and said, "I'm sorry if I offended you, Ser."

Instead of receiving a response from him, Ser Ilyn just walked away. Sansa then turned back to The Hound and asked, "Why won't he speak to me?"

"He hasn't been very talkative these last twenty years. Since the Mad King had his tongue ripped out with hot pincers." The Hound replied casually.

They were then approached by Prince Joffrey himself, who didn't hesitate to make his own comment on the subject. "He speaks damn well with his sword though. Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's justice. The Royal Executioner." He added the last part, as if to emphasize his meaning.

While she smiled at the sight of him, Sansa's smile didn't last long, which didn't go unnoticed by the Prince. "What is it, sweet lady?" He asked, raising a hand to her chin before looking up at The Hound, and asked her, "Does The Hound frighten you? Away with you, dog. You're scaring my lady." He said to the large man.

The Hound simply bowed his head before taking his leave.

This didn't escape the attention of Sansa's older sister, Jocelyn, who was watching them just a short distance away.

"I don't like to see you upset." Joffrey said as Sansa started to smile again. He then added, "The sun is finally shining. Come walk with me."

Sansa kneeled down next to Lady, telling the Direwolf to stay before happily following the Prince.

At most, she was happy that she was about to spend some time alone with him, which would allow them to talk and get to know each other more. She was very eager to know more about him, his hobbies, what kind of girls he likes, and she was very much hoping she matched everything he would describe.

The two made their way along the riverbank, both of them, Sansa more than Joffrey, enjoying the peace and quiet.

When the Prince offered her a drink, Sansa politely refused, "I probably shouldn't have any more. Father only lets us have one cup at feasts."

"My Princess can drink as much as she wants." Joffrey said politely, offering her a drink once more.

Sansa smiled at his manners and accepted his offer.

A sound then caught their attention, and Sansa was curious as to where it was coming from.

Joffrey looked back at her and smiled, adding, "Don't worry, you're safe with me." He said before leading the way.

Sansa followed right behind him, the two making their way towards the source of the sound.

* * *

When they arrived at the large opening next to the river, they discovered the source of the sound to be Sansa's younger sister Arya and Joffrey's younger brother Prince Derek practicing swordplay with each other.

"Arya!" Sansa called out, a little shocked that her sister was practicing swordplay, with one of the Prince's of all people.

Arya and Derek stopped practicing and turned their attention to the new arrivals.

"Brother, Lady Sansa." Derek said, offering them a little smile. "Beautiful day for a little stroll isn't it."

Joffrey didn't seem to agree with him however, and simple replied, "Whatever you say. It could be better I suppose."

His choice of words didn't escape Sansa's notice however, recalling how he mentioned the sun shining earlier, but she quickly brushed it off, and silently agreed that the day probably could be better.

Derek looked over at Sansa, still smiling as he spoke, "We never really got to speak properly back at Winterfell lady Sansa. I heard my mother mention that you were a really pretty girl, looks like she was right. My brother is very lucky."

Sansa looked away and smiled at the younger Prince's flattering compliment, while Arya simply rolled her eyes.

Her reaction didn't go unnoticed by Joffrey however, and the older Prince replied, "She is to be my future Queen, brother. You can keep your flattery and your compliments to yourself."

Derek tilted his head a little, looking confused. "It's just a harmless compliment, no need to get upset."

"I don't care. She's off limits to you, brother." Joffrey said, not interested in his younger brothers comments.

The younger Prince shrugged, "Whatever you say." He said, stealing the words Joffrey had just previously used.

Joffrey then eyed the sticks in their hands and replied, "Practicing swordplay are you? Well then..." He then drew his sword and smirked at his younger brother. "Why don't we put a show on for the ladies with real swords."

Derek's smile was gone the moment Joffrey drew his sword. He then looked over at Sansa and Arya, the latter who was looking very concerned, and the former, who looked like she wanted to leave but couldn't, and was simply attempting to keep a brave face the entire time.

"I don't think they want to see that brother." Derek replied. "Besides, real swords are dangerous, what if we accidentally hurt each other?"

Joffrey didn't seem to care however, replying, "You'd have to be a fool to think you could hurt me brother. Come on, draw your sword, or are you afraid that I'll embarrass you in front of my future Queen and her sister?"

The taunting comment didn't faze Derek at all. After all, he'd been dealing with such taunts from his older brother for a long time now, this was no different.

Plus, Derek knew that if he were to draw his sword and 'practice' with him, he'd only end up embarrassing his brother instead.

After all, Joffrey never really trained much with a sword.

Derek on the other hand, had been training a lot. Not only that, he learned from the likes of Ser Barristan Selmy himself, and his Uncle Jaime Lannister.

He wasn't brilliant, obviously. But for a boy his age, the skill he did have so far was impressive.

So it was obvious, to Derek anyway, that their skills with a sword were far apart from each other. It wouldn't exactly look good for Joffrey either if his future Queen saw him lose to his younger brother.

Nonetheless, Derek decided to play along.

Or at least, he would have had his brother not already swung his sword at him.

Derek just barely dodged in time, stepping to the side and drawing his sword. "My sword wasn't out yet!"

Joffrey turned and smirked at him. "You think anyone is going to care if it's drawn or not in a real fight?"

That comment almost managed to get to him, but Derek managed to keep himself calm.

Until Joffrey swung like mad at him.

Derek backed away, dodged and managed to block whatever swings almost hit him. Just barely however, as his older brother was so sloppy, he wasn't sure how to defend against someone with no technique. That, and Joffrey was swinging his sword really hard, causing Derek to almost stumble a few times whenever he did block against his brothers attacks.

"Stop moving you cunt!" Joffrey shouted hatefully as he attempted, really attempted, to hit Derek with his sword.

He wasn't going to stop moving, of course. This was already getting out of control and it started to worry him.

At the corner of his eye, Derek could see the frightened and worried looks on Sansa and Arya's faces, so he decided to try and end it right now by talking his brother down. "I think that's enough, you've made your point!"

Joffrey swung at him again however, and Derek almost fell back after blocking the hit, but managed to stay on his feet. "It's enough when I say it's enough!" Joffrey shouted.

"Stop it Joffrey!" Derek shouted after he barely dodged another one of his older brothers attacks. "Stop it!"

The elder Prince almost looked like a boy possessed however, his mad swinging making it very clear he had no intention of stopping, nor did he want to.

Finally, Arya stepped in and helped, whacking her stick across Joffrey's back.

"Arya!" Sansa shouted.

Joffrey turned his full attention on the Stark daughter in an instant, and started swinging his sword at her instead. "Filthy little bitch!"

Despite Sansa's shouts for them to stop, neither of them did.

The elder Prince continued to swing his sword at Arya until she fell to the ground. Joffrey then closed in and pointed his sword at her, telling her, "I'll gut you, you little cunt!"

"Joffrey!"

Derek shouted his older brothers name as he ran towards him.

Not only because Joffrey had his sword pointed at the daughter of his father's new Hand.

But because he saw Nymeria, Arya's Direwolf, running right towards his brother.

Acting as quick as he could, Derek put himself between his brother and the Direwolf.

Nymeria then ended up jumping at and biting down on Derek's arm instead.

The Direwolf's unexpected attack pushed Derek into Joffrey, and both Prince's ended up stumbling back in response...

Before both of them ended up falling into the river.

"Nymeria!" Arya shouted as she ran to her Direwolf and pulled her away while her sister screamed and watched on in shock as the Prince's flailed about in the water.

The two then ran off while Sansa ran to the river and reached her hand out to Joffrey who was swimming back over to her. "Here! Take my hand, my Prince!"

Joffrey wasn't about to argue against it, if it meant getting out of the water as soon as possible, he took her hand and let her pull him out of the river.

Derek however wasn't as lucky.

Clutching his arm due to the injury he just suffered, as well as the fact that he could not swim as Sansa immediately discovered upon seeing him struggle to stay above the surface of the water, and his calls for help, Sansa screamed almost immediately upon realising he was about to drown.

Fortunately, Sansa's screams seemed to have attracted help.

Her older sister Jocelyn came running towards them as fast as she could.

It didn't take long for the eldest Stark daughter to figure out the situation. She removed her white fur cloak and threw it to the ground before jumping in after the drowning Prince.

Sansa and Joffrey sat and waited, and watched as Jocelyn swam through the river and quickly reached the young Stag.

"Hold on tight!" Jocelyn said out loud as she grabbed hold of Derek, allowing him to hold on to her while she started swimming her way back to the others.

By the time they reached the ground, Sansa quickly rushed over to them and helped her older sister out of the river.

Once she was standing on ground again, Jocelyn gently put Derek down before turning to her sister, "Sansa, get my cloak would you please?"

Sansa nodded and went to retrieve her sisters white fur cloak, bringing it over to them.

Jocelyn took the cloak and wrapped it around Derek, telling him, "It's ok, you're safe now, my Prince."

Derek was shaking, but he was doing an ok job at keeping a brave face, even if he was struggling for once to keep it up.

When she looked over, Jocelyn saw that Joffrey was nowhere to be seen, much to Sansa's dismay. "He must have run off. That's not good."

The eldest Stark daughter then gently took hold of the Prince's arm upon noticing the blood dripping from his hand.

When Jocelyn examined where Nymeria had bitten Derek, she almost flinched at the injury.

"Definitely not good."

* * *

 **Authors Notes: I meant to finish this one a lot sooner but it ended up being a bit longer than I expected it to. Either way, I'm kind of satisfied with the way it turned out. That said, I originally had a different idea in mind for how this scene was going to play out, but I think the idea I went with here was probably the better one. Not exactly a major change, well, depending on your view of it, but the aftermath of the incident just might play out a bit differently since Joffrey wasn't the one that got bitten this time.  
**

 **I think the next chapter is when the royal party will finally arrive in King's Landing, where I believe things will finally start picking up. Until then.**

 **As usual, please Review, the feedback is really appreciated.**


	6. Mother and Son

**If you haven't voted on the Poll on my profile yet, I ask that you take a quick minute to do so, as, like I said before, the result might just be the game changer later on in the story.**

 **Also, has anyone been having issues writing chapters on this site recently? When I keep typing the words just continue along the same line rather than move to the next line and it messed up a previous chapter that I had to go back and fix because of it. I dunno what the problem is, or if I'm just going crazy, whatever, it's a little extra work to go back and fix, it's not that bad, I would appreciate it if they fixed it though.**

 ** ** ** ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury.**********

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 6:  
'Mother and Son'********

 **The Kingsroad, Crossroads Inn**

To say the incident on the riverbank made Queen Cersei angry would be an understatement.

After Joffrey told her what happened, his version of the incident that is, the Queen was completely furious.

When Jocelyn brought Derek to them, Cersei almost screamed at the sight of his injury and had him treated immediately while the eldest Stark daughter set out with her father to find Arya and Nymeria, but not before taking Sansa to her room and telling her to keep the door locked until she returned.

As she sat with him, holding his hand as his injury was tended to, it didn't escape Cersei's notice that Derek was fighting back tears, and he was doing a surprisingly good job.

Of course, she knew right away that he was just trying to put on a strong and brave face for her and his father, and Robert was clearly proud that his son wasn't bawling his eyes out like Joffrey did one time when he suffered a minor cut to his hand.

Once his injury was cleaned and covered, Cersei pulled him into a tight hug, feeling more relieved now that her handsome little Stag was safe and sound in her arms, and she wasn't about to let him go anytime soon.

Robert was going to ask Derek to explain his version of the incident, but decided to leave it be until his son had some time to recover from the incident, which meant he had to listen to Cersei complain nonstop solely on the explanation given to them by Joffrey.

Hours had gone by and soon enough night had arrived.

Jocelyn had found Arya just before the Lannister soldiers did and quickly brought her to their father before explaining what happened on the riverbank.

Arya proceeded to tell them that she sent Nymeria away to protect her, which they really couldn't blame her for, as no doubt Queen Cersei would want the Direwolf killed for what she did to Derek.

Ned, for a moment, was unsure of what to do. He knew his daughter would likely be the target of the Queen's anger since it was her Direwolf that bit Derek, and since that was the truth, the Queen would be somewhat justified in demanding that Arya be punished for not keeping her Direwolf in line.

Jocelyn then told them that she spoke with Prince Derek about the incident as she took him to his parents, and explained that he would set things straight for them.

Ned was concerned somewhat that the Queen might not listen, even to her son, though he has known Derek to be very persuasive, so there was a chance. A slim chance, but it was better than nothing.

With that, he, Jory and his daughters started making their way back to the Inn.

* * *

When they arrived, they saw the King, the Queen and her two sons Joffrey and Derek waiting for them.

Cersei was still holding Derek in her arms as she glared at them, though the Starks remained unfazed by her glare.

Ned looked at the young black-haired Prince and asked, "Are you okay Prince Derek?"

Derek said nothing but looked back at him and nodded.

The Hand of the King then faced Derek's father and asked, "Arya told me what happened, she-"

"She interrupted my son's while they were in the middle of practicing their swordplay. She then set her animal on my baby boy, the beast nearly tore his arm off." Cersei said, calmly, but the hate was still clear enough for them to make out. "And if that wasn't enough, she pushed them into the river and left them to drown."

"That's not true!" Arya denied. She would have lashed out if Jocelyn hadn't put her hands on her shoulders and kept her in place, quietly reminding her to keep calm.

Ned looked at the King, who then said, "He tells me one thing, she tells me another, seven hells, what am I to make of this?"

Robert looked back and forth between them for a moment before asking, "Where's your other daughter Ned?"

"She is in her bed, asleep, your grace." Jocelyn calmly spoke up. "She was still too shaken up after the incident, so I took her to her room myself."

The King looked at her briefly before turning to Ned again, "Very well."

Ned then turned to Prince Derek and asked, "You're the victim here Prince Derek. Perhaps you can clarify what really happened?"

Derek nodded a little as he slowly moved away from his mothers grip, but she kept her hands on his shoulders the entire time, not fully, or willing to let him go.

The Prince looked at Arya, who stared back at him with concern as he started trying to think of an explanation that would fix this mess without anyone being punished.

He then looked at Ned and then Jocelyn, the former who looked almost as concerned as Arya, while the latter was keeping a calm and collected look the entire time.

Finally, Derek faced his father and spoke. "It was an accident, father."

Robert said nothing, and instead gestured for his son to continue.

"I was, practicing swordplay with Arya. Then my brother showed up with lady Sansa." Derek explained. "I suggested putting on a little show for the Stark girls, just for fun, and Joffrey agreed, so we practiced with each other."

Cersei kept a neutral look the entire time as her black-haired son explained his version of the incident.

Joffrey was looking a little concerned, but there was a mix of confusion on his face as well. He knew that it was him, not Derek, that suggested putting on a show for the Stark girls. But then, he had already said his piece, and he wasn't about to say anything more that would contradict his previous explanation, not that his version of the incident was the truth to begin with.

"But, while we were in the middle of practicing, Joffrey dodged one of my swings and Arya was standing too close to us, and I almost ended up hitting her instead." Derek said.

There was a look of surprise on Arya's face. Jocelyn could feel her younger sister tensing up, and quickly shook her a little, as if to tell her to stay silent.

Derek then went on, adding, "Arya screamed and raised her stick to protect herself, thankfully she did. Then Nymeria came running to defend her and jumped at me. She bit me, pushed me into Joffrey, and we both fell into the river."

The explanation seemed to be calming things down, though Cersei still didn't seem happy if the look on her face was any indication.

"After that, lady Sansa helped Joffrey out of the river, but I was already too far out for them to help." Derek then added, "Then, just as I thought I was going to drown, lady Jocelyn suddenly arrived and jumped into the river, she grabbed me and pulled me back to safety."

The Prince looked over at the eldest Stark daughter, who sent a warm and comforting smile his way. "She saved my life." He said.

Robert looked at Jocelyn, as did Cersei. While Robert looked grateful, Cersei, for a moment, looked very unsure how to feel about her sons explanation of the incident.

"That's what really happened." Derek said, finishing his explanation. "It was just an accident, if anything, it was my fault for suggesting the idea in the first place." He looked up at his mother with an apologetic stare, adding, "I'm sorry."

Cersei shook her head and kneeled down to pull him into a tight hug. "No, no it's not your fault my sweet, you have nothing to apologise for."

"Well, that's that then." Robert said before standing up from his chair. "What a day." He sighed.

The Queen however was not ready to let him leave without addressing one other thing. "What about the Direwolf? What about the beast that savaged your son?"

Again, Robert sighed and turned to one of the Lannister soldiers. "I'd forgot the damned wolf."

"We found no trace of the Direwolf, your grace." The guard replied.

Given how stressed the situation had made him, Robert wasn't about to stress himself out any further and decided to leave it at that. "No?" He turned to Ned and simply nodded. "So be it."

Feeling his mother tensing up, and knowing how she can be, Derek knew she wasn't going to let it go easily.

He knew her enough to know that if she couldn't get her hands on Nymeria, she would try and settle for the next best thing, one of the other Direwolves. That's just the way she was. Plus, he recalled the conversation he had with Jocelyn when she was escorting him to his parents, and he quickly remembered what they spoke about, and what to do about it should it be necessary.

And when he felt his mother tense up, he knew right then and there she was going to say something.

So Derek decided to beat her to it. "Father, if I could, make a suggestion?"

Robert and Ned both looked back at the young Prince as he continued, "The Direwolves are, clearly difficult to keep under control, especially when no one is keeping an eye on them. I think, for the safety of everyone in King's Landing, it would probably be best if Lord Stark sent them back to Winterfell."

Arya was surprised at the suggestion, but just as she seemed like she was going to say something, Jocelyn held her in place, as if telling her to keep quiet.

Cersei tensed up, and Derek could feel it, but despite that, the Queen managed to keep a neutral look on her face the entire time.

Robert looked at Ned and nodded, "He's right. Last thing we need is them causing more trouble in the city of all places."

"But..." Ned started, looking like he was about to protest against the King's decision.

"Father." Jocelyn said quietly, getting her fathers attention.

When Ned turned to his eldest daughter, as usual, she was keeping a calm and collected look as she told him, "It's ok. Do it."

Ned and Arya were surprised that she was agreeing to it.

But then, Ned recalled when Jocelyn mentioned how she had spoken with Derek about the incident as she escorted him to his parents.

That's probably why she was calmer than usual.

It didn't take long for Ned to figure it out afterwards.

Before she had taken him directly to his parents, Jocelyn and Prince Derek had spoken about what would likely happen following the incident, so they decided to come up with a solution in which everyone could walk away happy and unharmed.

Well, given the look on her face, Cersei was the only one walking away unhappy.

And, considering the injury he suffered, Derek wasn't exactly walking away unharmed either.

With all of that over with, Robert had taken his leave and retired to his bed, and all of the guards started to leave as well.

"Come, it's time for bed." Cersei had told her sons as she began to leave, only stopping to look at the three Starks briefly.

Ned and Arya received a hateful glance from the Queen. Jocelyn however, there was a look in the Queen's eyes that wasn't just simple hate, it was something even greater than hate, if that was even possible.

Whatever it was though, the Queen was doing a good job of keeping it subtle.

Joffrey wasted little time following his mother out of the room, not even bothering to look either of the Starks in the eye.

Soon enough it was just Ned, Derek, Jocelyn, Arya and Jory.

"Jory, take Arya to her room."

Jory nodded and waited for Arya to follow. The Stark daughter looked at Derek one last time, unsure whether to feel grateful for his suggestion, or hate it.

Once Jocelyn nudged her along, Arya turned and followed Jory out of the room.

"That was a close one. That could have easily turned out worse." Derek said.

Ned looked between them, and asked, "Is this what you two spoke about?"

Jocelyn nodded, "Yes, father. Sending them back to Winterfell was my idea. I'm sorry I wasn't exactly clear about it earlier. We were in a hurry after all."

The new Hand of the King shook his head, replying, "No, it's ok. It's over now. That's all that matters."

When she looked back at the Prince, Jocelyn said, "We'll send Lady and Winter back to Winterfell first thing in the morning."

"That's probably for the best." Derek replied. "It's better than King's Landing anyway, they'll be much safer back at Winterfell."

Jocelyn then turned to her father, telling him, "I should probably let Sansa know, assuming she's still awake. She won't like it, but she'll understand, eventually."

Ned nodded, replying, "Go and get some sleep after you see her, it's been a stressful day for everyone."

The eldest Stark daughter nodded, but just as she was about to leave, Derek stopped her. "Lady Jocelyn?"

When Jocelyn looked over at the Prince, he continued, "You saved my life. I promise I'll pay that debt some day."

Rather than respond, Jocelyn just offered him a friendly smile before taking her leave.

Ned waited until she was gone before turning back to the Prince. "How's your arm?"

"They said my arm would recover, and told me I should refrain from holding a sword for a little while until then." Derek said, more upset over the fact that he was unable to train for a while.

The Hand of the King nodded before turning to take his leave.

Derek was about to stop and ask him something, but decided to just let him leave.

With everyone gone, the young Prince decided to take his leave also, and made his way to his room to retire to his bed for the night. He needed to get as much rest as he could.

He was going to need it if he wanted to hold a sword again.

* * *

 **King's Landing**

The royal party had finally arrived at their destination, and King's Landing looked the same as it always had, for Ned anyway.

While Arya was a little more talkative, Sansa was quiet for the duration of the trip. This was mostly due to the fact that she didn't feel like talking to anyone after her father sent her and her older sister's Direwolves back to Winterfell.

Jocelyn managed to convince her that it was for the best, and even though Sansa accepted it, she still hated it.

It simply showed how quickly the Stark children had gotten attached to the animals.

When they arrived in King's Landing, Ned tasked Jory with helping his daughters get settled in before making his way to the Small Council chamber, after being informed that Grand Maester Pycelle had called a meeting and requested his presence.

He stopped along the way when he entered the throne room and spoke briefly with Jaime Lannister, who reminded Ned of the events that transpired in the throne room years ago.

Once he entered the Small Council chamber, he was greeted by Lord Varys, Lord Petyr Baelish, who was also known as Littlefinger, Grand Maester Pycelle and his friend Lord Renly Baratheon, King Robert's younger brother.

After giving the new Hand of the King his brooch, the Small Council wasted little time beginning the meeting, with Ned noting the King's absence.

The first thing Renly brought up was King Robert wanting to stage a tournament in honour of Ned Stark's appointment as Hand of the King.

When Lord Baelish asked how much, Ned informed them that forty thousand Gold Dragons would be awarded to the winner of the joust, with twenty thousand awarded to the runner-up, ten thousand to the winning archer, and twenty thousand to the winner of the melee.

It was only after Pycelle asked if the treasury could afford it that Ned learned from Lord Baelish that the crown was six million Gold Dragons in debt, with half of it owed to House Lannister.

Ned made his decision right away, stating that the tournament was an extravagance the crown could not afford and decided to cancel it.

Even so, a part of him believed that Robert would order it anyway.

The new Hand of the King could easily see he had a lot of work ahead of him.

* * *

Since he was unable to hold a sword for a little while, Prince Derek Baratheon decided to settle for the next best thing.

Which was his studies, more books, some of which were specific tomes he had asked for.

One such tome was The Book of Brothers, which contained the records of all the great deeds of every Knight who served in the Kingsguard.

This book in particular was provided to him by Ser Barristan, who was currently watching over the Prince as he quietly started reading through the book.

However, he only got a chance to read through the first two pages before his mother entered his room seemingly wanting to speak to him.

"Ser Barristan, leave us." Cersei said.

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard looked at the Prince for a brief moment before stepping out of the room, leaving the two alone.

Once she had closed the door, Cersei approached her second youngest son, asking him, "What are you studying this time?"

"I thought I'd look at the records of all the great deeds of the Kingsguard." Derek replied.

Cersei stood next to him and looked down at the book herself, and read out one of the names, "Ser Duncan the Tall."

Derek smiled a little, replying, "He rescued the daughter of Lord Damon Lannister from Pyke, after her ship was taken by Greyjoy raiders."

The Queen nodded, and turned the page before asking, "How's your arm?"

"It hurts when I move it a lot, so I try not to." Derek replied, his smile disappearing now.

This didn't escape Cersei's notice and prompted her to ask, "What's the matter?"

Derek looked up at her, a bit hesitant to ask his question. "Are...are you angry at me?"

Cersei recoiled in surprise for a moment, before kneeling down and placing her hands on his cheeks. "Of course not my sweet, why would you even think such a thing?"

The young Stag didn't need to think about his response, he simply took a moment to think of the best way to word it. "We didn't really speak much, after the accident on the Kingsroad I mean. I thought, you may have been angry because of my solution in dealing with the Direwolves."

Cersei was silent for a moment, and right then and there, Derek could tell just by the subtle look in her eye, and by her silence, that she was unhappy with how the accident was resolved.

That didn't necessarily mean that she was angry at him.

But he wanted to find out nonetheless. The last thing he wanted was his mother being angry at him.

"Did I...handle it very badly?" Derek asked, looking a little concerned now.

Cersei slowly shook her head and pulled him into a hug. "You handled it just fine, much differently than I would have, but you handled it just fine." She said, actually being fully honest in her response, somewhat.

Derek could tell she was being honest, and that was enough for him to return her hug, wrapping his arms around her, minding his injured one of course.

Once they pulled away, Derek worked up a little smile and proceeded to ask, "I was wondering if I could, perhaps get your advice on something."

Cersei nodded, smiling in return before replying, "Of course, my sweet little Prince, what can your mother help you with?"

"I was wondering if...maybe, you knew if there was anything I could do to repay lady Jocelyn." Derek said, causing his mother to almost lose her smile. "F-For saving my life I mean."

The reminder of what the eldest Stark daughter did managed to recover a little of the Queen's smile.

On the outside that is.

Inside, there was a burning fire of rage and hatred consuming her, a rage and hatred that she tried very much to hold back in order to keep up the smile on her face.

But she couldn't afford to let her emotions get the best of her right now.

For now, she knew all she could do was keep smiling, and HOPE that her young Stag didn't keep bringing up the Stark girl and her 'great' deed.

Derek then said, "I was thinking jewellery or something, maybe flowers, but those aren't nearly good enough. She saved my life after all."

Cersei was still giving it some thought.

"And a Lannister always pays his debts, right?" Derek asked, still smiling a little.

The words caught Cersei's attention, and actually surprised her a little.

Derek then added, "I know, I'm a Baratheon. But your my mother. I carry Lannister blood as well, it's only right that I pay back my debts. Right?"

This actually earned a little chuckle from the Queen, who quietly replied, "That's right. You are very right my sweet."

She stood back up and kissed his head before turning to leave. "I'll speak with lady Jocelyn myself, see if I can...find out what kind of gifts she prefers."

Derek didn't look too sure however, replying, "Y-You don't have to mother, I'm sure you must be busy-"

"Consider it my way of paying back the Stark girl, for saving my little Stag's life." Cersei said, still smiling a little at him.

The young black-haired Prince still wasn't sure but nonetheless relented, "O-Ok...um, thank you."

Cersei smiled a little more at his response, "No need to thank me my sweet, anything for my baby boy."

With that, the Queen took her leave, opening the door and exiting the room, with Ser Barristan returning inside.

Derek almost rolled his eyes at her last few words.

He always welcomed her love and affection.

But damn he hated that she still seemed to treat him as if he was still an infant.

* * *

 **Authors Notes: Consider this chapter, and the one before, kind of, as an early Xmas present from me. Now that I'm at King's Landing, things should start to pick up much quicker, though since we'll be following characters like Derek and Jocelyn, that means I'm not exactly going to write everything that happens, that'd take me longer than how long it takes GRRM to write Winds of Winter. You could say the attempt on Bran's life will already have happened for one example and Catelyn is already on her way to King's Landing as another.** **Anyway that about covers it.  
**

 **As usual, please Review, the feedback is really appreciated.**


	7. Lady Stark

**Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and Happy New Year! I got the Game of Thrones book set, so I'll have plenty of reading of my own to do for the next year, or two, since I tend to be a slow reader sometimes. I was also considering getting the Game of Thrones DVD box set of Seasons 1 to 7, cuz I loved the cover of the box set with the Targaryen, Lannister, Stark and Baratheon pieces on the map. But then I remembered, one more Season to go, and I'm better off waiting until the complete series box set is available. Waiting, it's one of those things I'm just not good at apparently.  
**

 **Also, since no one has messaged me regarding the OC role of a learning younger brother of House Dayne, I decided to just scrap the role. There's a few roles remaining that I'll be looking to have filled later on, mostly minor, and one or two major ones. If you want to know what the remaining roles are, just PM me and I'll let you know.  
**

 ** ** ** ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury.**********

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 7:  
'Lady Stark'********

 **King's Landing**

An attempt on Bran's life by a catspaw assassin had forced Catelyn Stark to start her own investigation in Winterfell.

With the assassin dead, after having his throat torn out by Summer, Bran's Direwolf, they were unable to interrogate him in order to find out who hired him.

Following this, Catelyn had decided to investigate the tower that Bran had fallen from to see if she could find any clues that would possibly point to whoever was responsible, after the attempted assassination had aroused her suspicion that her sons fall may not have been an accident.

And as she searched the room at the top, she discovered a strand of blonde hair on the floor, and noted that the only ones with blond hair who were in Winterfell at the time were the Lannisters.

She had brought these concerns to Maester Luwin, Ser Rodrik Cassel, her son Robb and Theon Greyjoy, and informed them that she suspected the Lannisters tried to kill Bran.

Ser Rodrik identified the dagger that the assassin used was Valyrian Steel with a dragonbone hilt, and pointed out that it was too fine a weapon for such a man, which clearly indicated that someone gave it to him.

Adding to the fact that they already had reason to suspect the Lannisters loyalty to the crown, Catelyn then deduces that Raymond Lannister's investigation was most likely an attempt to find out if there were any potential witnesses, and silence them so no one would could point fingers at the Lannisters.

When Maester Luwin told her that Ned must be informed, Catelyn wasted little time making her way south, with only Ser Rodrik by her side, to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

However, when they arrived in King's Landing, their caution in avoiding unwanted attention didn't seem to work as they hoped.

They were approached by guards of the City Watch and escorted to a brothel, owned by Catelyn's childhood friend, Littlefinger.

After lashing out at Littlefinger in anger at being brought to such a place, Catelyn then met Lord Varys, whose 'little birds' told him they were coming. As she tried to find out who the Valyrian Steel dagger belonged, Varys unfortunately didn't have the answers she was looking for.

Littlefinger did though, and claimed that the dagger was his, and that he had lost it in a gamble to Tyrion Lannister.

The answer almost didn't surprise Catelyn.

Following their meeting, Littlefinger, at Catelyn's request, brought Ned to the brothel so she could inform him of what happened.

Of course, when Ned did arrive at the brothel, he almost strangled Littlefinger to death thinking he was the victim of a bad joke. Fortunately, his wife made her presence known before he could harm Littlefinger any further.

Despite Catelyn claiming the dagger would serve as proof that the Lannisters tried to kill Bran, Littlefinger disagreed, stating that Tyrion would simply say the dagger was stolen from him.

Even though it looked like they had no way of proving that the Lannisters were behind the crime, Catelyn informed her husband that Littlefinger had promised to help them find out the truth, adding that he would never betray her trust, having known him since they were both children.

Littlefinger then stated that, even though it was a fools task, he would try and keep Ned alive for Catelyn's sake, as he had never been able to refuse her anything.

Catelyn simply looked him in the eyes and thanked him for his help, calling him a true friend.

He was simply happy, that he had their trust.

With their business concluded, Catelyn asked to see her daughters, but Ned reluctantly refused, stating that until they knew who their enemies were, he would be unable to do anything without proof.

Catelyn insisted that the Lannisters were responsible, and asked what Ned would do if he found proof.

Ned simply told her, "Then I bring it to Robert, and hope he's still the man I once knew."

After sharing an affectionate kiss with each other, Catelyn took her leave.

Ned watched as his wife left with Ser Rodrik, and as they disappeared from his sight, he started to feel a little more concerned.

Concerned knowing that King's Landing may have gotten more dangerous for him and his daughters.

Now that he knew the Lannisters were potential enemies.

* * *

Before her father left with Littlefinger, Jocelyn had learned from him that Bran had woken up, much to her delight.

The eldest Stark daughter made sure to remind herself that, upon her return to Winterfell, the first thing she would do is ask Bran what happened when he fell.

If someone did indeed push him in an attempt to kill him, she promised that she would kill the one responsible.

Until then, all she could do was wait.

Soon enough, her walk through the Red Keep brought her to the throne room.

Without hesitation, she entered the empty room and slowly approached the Iron Throne that was just up ahead.

She stopped just a few feet away from the steps leading up to throne, and stared at it curiously.

The silence in the room didn't last long, as someone else made their presence known.

Jocelyn could easily tell the person was wearing armour just by listening to the sound in their walk, and immediately assumed it to be a Kingsguard.

She turned and found herself face to face with Jaime Lannister, who was staring at her with half a smug smile on his face.

"Lady Stark." The Kingsguard said.

The eldest Stark daughter just stared back at him with a neutral expression, and asked, "There are a few names that you go by, is there not? What would you have me address you as?"

Jaime's smile was gone, replaced with a look of confusion as he thought of a response to the unexpected question. "Well, I believe Ser would be appropriate, wouldn't you agree?"

Jocelyn's look remained the same, calm and neutral as she replied, "So you don't prefer Kingslayer?"

The Lannister Kingsguard almost looked offended at the comment, but quickly regained his composure and said, "And, why, my lady, would you assume that?"

"You simply strike me as the kind of man who would prefer as such." Jocelyn responded calmly.

Jaime tilted his head, and looked at her curiously for a moment, before asking, "Have I done something to offend you lady Stark?"

Jocelyn narrowed her eyes at him a little, before looking around the throne room, at a certain spot in particular, and asked, "...It was right there, wasn't it?" She asked, pointing to the spot where her grandfather and uncle had died years ago.

It took a brief moment for Jaime to process her response and figure out what she was referring to, and quickly responded, "Indeed. Exactly that spot."

"I have just one question then." Jocelyn added.

Jaime simply stared at her, waiting for said question. She then asked it, "Why didn't you kill him before he killed my grandfather and my uncle?"

The question caught Jaime off guard a little, and he did have to ponder it for a moment.

Jocelyn then added, "You ended up killing him anyway, but it wasn't until your father arrived at King's Landing. So why didn't you kill him before he killed my family? If you had killed him before then, perhaps the war may not have happened, or at the very least, many would have avoided losing their lives. So why?"

Jaime looked up at the Iron Throne, at the spot where he killed the Mad King.

He then thought back to the day when he watched Rickard Stark and Brandon Stark die, and replied, "I was sworn to defend the King, not judge him."

When the eldest Stark daughter looked a little confused by his response, he added, "That is what Gerold Hightower made sure to remind me of right after they died."

Jocelyn almost frowned at his words, but managed to keep a calm and collected look. "After they were murdered, you mean."

Jaime faced her again and shrugged, "Yes, yes, murdered, my apologies."

For a moment, Jocelyn looked at him, trying to figure out what he was feeling just by looking into his eyes. And for just a brief second, she swore she could see a flicker of genuine honesty and remorse.

Remorse, for not killing the Mad King sooner, perhaps.

"What's done is done." Jocelyn then said.

Jaime raised a brow at her, curious now. "Pardon?"

Jocelyn looked up at him and smiled a little, adding, "What's done is done. Grieving will not bring them back. At the very least, I'm just glad that the Mad King and Rhaegar Targaryen finally paid for what they did to my family."

There was a slight look of surprise on Jaime's face now, not expecting such a response from the eldest Stark daughter.

"They nearly destroyed my family, so I'm glad, that they were killed." Jocelyn said, her smile replaced with a light frown. "I will always be grateful to King Robert for personally killing Rhaegar, given he was the one who practically started the war by kidnapping my aunt Lyanna."

Jaime nodded, understanding where she was coming from. Jocelyn then added, "And, I am grateful to you too, Ser Jaime. For killing the Mad King."

The Lannister Kingsguard wasn't expecting her to show him gratitude however, and couldn't help but be surprised now.

"Death was too quick for a monster like him." Jocelyn said, her calm expression almost breaking away in favour of anger, but she managed to push that anger away and keep up the calm look on her face. "But, I suppose the sooner the world is rid of monsters like him, the better off the world will be."

Jaime didn't reply, still recovering from the surprise of receiving gratitude, from a Stark of all people.

But at the same time, it, sort of felt good.

To know that there was someone who didn't frown upon his actions, and instead looked upon them with gratitude, it actually made him feel a little happy, as if he had done something right.

The eldest Stark daughter spoke up again, "I fully intend to protect my family with my life, and I will do everything I can to make sure that a tragedy like that never befalls them again."

Jaime smiled a little and nodded in agreement. "I dare not disagree with you there, lady Stark."

Jocelyn then smiled a little in response as she looked him in the eye, replying, "Indeed, Ser Jaime. And if anyone harms my family, they had better pray to the Seven that I don't find them."

Her words froze Jaime on the spot.

"Farewell for now, Ser Jaime. I don't want to distract you from your duties." The eldest Stark daughter said.

It took all of his willpower to keep up the smile on his face as Jocelyn looked him in the eye one more time before turning and taking her leave.

Once she was gone from his sight, Jaime's smile dropped almost immediately, replaced with a look of concern.

And the first thing he thought of, was when he pushed Bran from that window.

* * *

When his Uncle Renly had told him that there was going to be a tournament held in honour of Lord Stark's appointment as Hand of the King, naturally, Prince Derek Baratheon was really excited.

It didn't escape Robert's notice that Derek was rather upset at not being able to practice with a sword, so it was very possible this was also one of the reasons Robert wanted to stage the tournament. To let his son see some of the best warriors in the Seven Kingdoms face each other.

Derek was already asking his Uncle Renly many questions about said tournament.

Questions such as how much the champions purse was.

When it was being held.

And, more importantly, who would be participating.

"Calm down nephew, it's going to be held very soon. Just be patient." Renly said as his nephew continued to throw questions at him.

Derek was too excited to calm down though, and asked, "What about the Knight of Flowers, Ser Loras Tyrell? You're friends with the Tyrells, aren't you Uncle? Do you know if they'll be there?"

Renly failed to hold back his amused smile as he replied, "Of course they will be there. I can assure you, nephew, that most of the greatest warriors in the Seven Kingdoms will be there to participate in the tournament."

"Will Ser Barristan and Uncle Jaime be participating as well then?" Derek asked.

His Uncle nodded. "Yes, even Ser Barristan and your Uncle Jaime."

The Prince then thought for a moment, before asking, "And, um, what about Uncle Stannis?"

Renly almost recoiled in surprise at the question. "I...do not believe my brother is interested in attending, knowing him."

"That's too bad." Derek said, smiling a little despite feeling disappointed. "I think he would do great in the melee."

His Baratheon Uncle chuckled a little in response. "For a moment, I thought you were going to suggest the idea that he would take part in the joust."

Derek looked at him, confused now. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. Forget about it. Anyway, as Master of Laws, I have duties to attend to. The tournament will be held very soon, so try to stay out of trouble until then." Renly said, ruffling Derek's hair.

Derek rolled his eyes, simply replying, "Whatever you say Uncle."

* * *

Once Renly took his leave, Derek decided to pay a visit to the Stark girls.

Arya in particular, as he hadn't exactly spoke with her properly after the incident on the Kingsroad.

When he found Arya, he was surprised to see that she was currently practicing with a Braavosi man, who was showing an amazing display of skill and technique.

He slowly entered the room, feeling a little worried about whether or not Arya might lash out at him.

The Braavosi man saw him almost immediately and lowered his wooden sword, greeting him with a smile. "Why hello, Prince Derek. Are you, perhaps, interested inpracticing as well?"

He sounded friendly enough, Derek thought to himself.

When Arya turned and looked at him with a mixed stare, Derek quickly shook his head and politely refused. "N-No thank you, um...?"

"Ah, my apologies. Syrio Forel. First Sword of Braavos." The man replied, introducing himself.

Derek smiled a little, and asked, "Um, what are you doing here in King's Landing? I mean, I can see it looks like your teaching Arya how to fight with a sword, but-"

Syrio raised a hand, silencing the Prince. "Not fight." He gently waved his sword in the air, adding, "Water Dance."

The Prince nodded, "Ah, I...I see."

The Braavosi looked at him curiously for a moment, before asking him, "Is something troubling you young one?"

Derek shook his head, then looked over at Arya for a moment, and then asked, "N-No...um, I was, hoping if I could, perhaps speak to Arya for a moment. If, that's ok with you?"

"But of course." Syrio grinned happily. "I'm always happy to stand aside and allow young love to grow and bloom like a flower."

Almost immediately in response, both Derek and Arya recoiled in shock. "WHAT?!" They shouted in perfect unison.

Syrio smiled to himself as Derek replied, "It's not like that at all!"

The Braavosi didn't seem to be paying attention however, still smiling as he walked out of the room, leaving the two alone.

When he faced Arya, Derek struggled for a good while to find the words he wanted to say.

At first he knew what he wanted to talk about, but thanks to the Braavosi, he was at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry."

The unexpected apology from Arya surprised Derek.

Confused, the Prince then asked, "W-What are you apologising for?"

Arya then said, "Jocelyn told me, about what you two spoke about back on the Kingsroad. I was a bit angry at you, for having Lady and Winter sent back home. But, I understand now why you had to do it. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been angry."

"No, I'm sorry." Derek then apologised himself. "If I had just disarmed Joffrey right away then all of that could have been avoided."

Arya tilted her head a little, looking at him rather confused now. "If you had disarmed Joffrey? What do you mean? It looked as if you were struggling against him."

Derek looked a little embarrassed now. "Well, truth be told, I could have disarmed him without much effort. But, I...didn't want to embarrass him in front of your sister."

"I...still don't understand." Arya replied, still looking a little confused.

The Prince sighed, and said, "Simply put, I'm WAY better with a sword than Joffrey is."

It took a moment before Arya realised the point he was trying to make. "Oh, I see now. I'm sorry but, I just assumed, given how you didn't really swing your sword once, you didn't know how to fight with one."

Derek laughed a little now. "I don't know how to fight with one, Arya. I just know how to swing one."

Again, the Stark daughter looked confused. "What's the difference?"

"There's a big difference between swinging a sword, and fighting with one." Derek said, smiling a little now as he remembered many of his lessons with Ser Barristan. "Like Joffrey for example. All he did was swing his sword, he wasn't fighting with it, and even then, he was swinging it rather poorly."

Arya chuckled. "He was, wasn't he?"

The Prince laughed with her, adding, "In any case, your sisters Direwolves will be safe back in Winterfell. Much safer than they would here, that's for sure."

Arya looked at Derek's bandaged arm, and asked, "How's your arm?"

"It will recover. Hopefully before the Hand's Tournament." Derek said, looking at his arm.

When he looked back at the Stark daughter, a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Arya, I was wondering if you could perhaps help me with something."

Arya nodded, "Sure. What is it?"

"Your sister, Jocelyn." Derek replied, asking her, "I was hoping to give her a gift or something to repay her for saving my life back on the Kingsroad. But, I don't exactly know what kind of things she is interested in. Do you think you could help me out with that?"

Arya smirked a little at him. "I think you're going to have a hard time figuring that out. Jocelyn isn't the type of person to take things from other people. She's the type of person who gives, and never asks for anything in return."

Derek looked a little surprised at her response. "As if I didn't admire her enough already."

"I can't blame you." Arya said, seemingly deep in thought.

The Prince noticed the proud expression on her face, and asked, "You really look up to her, don't you?"

Arya smiled now, replying, "Everyone always wanted me to act like a lady. But whenever we were alone, Jocelyn always let me be myself, and would let me practice with her whenever I wanted."

"Well, speaking of practice..." Derek started as he eyed the door where Syrio was standing. "I should probably let you get back to it."

The Stark daughter then asked, "Why don't you stay and watch us?"

Derek shook his head and politely refused. "Sorry, I don't think that's a good idea. Seeing the two of you practice will just make me want to pick up a sword even more despite knowing I can't. Don't worry, I have books to read, and I prefer those when I'm not practicing anyway."

"Fair enough. I didn't think of it that way." Arya chuckled.

"See you at the Tournament." The Prince said before making his way to the door just as Syrio re-entered the room.

He stopped upon exiting and looked back inside as Arya and Syrio resumed their Water Dancing.

The Prince smiled at them once more, watching them trade a few blows before taking his leave.

"Water Dancing huh? Maybe I'll give it a try."

* * *

 **Authors Notes: And that does it for this chapter. Took a little longer than it should have but a few things distracted me for a while so I barely had the time to come back and make progress on it. I'm not fully sure if the Hand's Tournament will happen next chapter, as there's a few things I want to write before that, but I can confidently say that the Tournament will be on Chapter 9. If I remember right, it's the Tournament in which a good number of characters are introduced, so expect to see some familiar faces, obviously.**

 **Anyway, as usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	8. The Blacksmith

**This chapter is mostly mixed, with the last part setting up the Hand's Tournament in the next chapter so don't be surprised if nothing much happens. I plan on changing the story summary at some point so that it will match the series of events taking place. But right now the current or eventual events are as the Summary states, until the story passes by those events, the summary will remain as is for the time being. Of course, I haven't fully decided if I will do this yet as writing in new Summaries will very likely spoil certain events that take place prior.  
**

 **Also, I'm currently looking for a strong and wise firstborn daughter OC of House Arryn, so if you'd like to try for the role, as usual, just send me a PM.**

 **Lastly, even though I've never wrote lemon before, I'm just gonna say this Chapter is Rated M anyway, for slight Lemon just in case, whatever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury,** **Lewyn Sand belongs to MineyMo.**

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 8:  
'The Blacksmith'********

 **Essos**

The rest of the journey to Vaes Dothrak was mostly quiet, and a little awkward following a brief incident along the way.

While travelling along the western edge of the Dothraki sea, Daenerys had commanded for the Khalasar to halt, which didn't exactly sit well with her brother Viserys.

Her brother had approached and threatened her with a sword, before being disarmed by her bodyguard Rakharo, who offered to kill him.

After Daenerys refused the offer and spared his life, Viserys commanded Ser Jorah and Lewyn to kill Rakharo for harming him, but the Knight and the young Dornishman silently refused, and had simply stood by and done nothing.

They then escorted Daenerys back to the Khalasar and continued on their way.

Daenerys herself slowly began to realise though, after the incident, that Viserys was incapable of being King, and clearly incapable of leading an army, if two of his own 'subjects' would not follow his orders.

As they arrived at Vaes Dothrak, Viserys complained about how Khal Drogo was marching the wrong way with 'his' army, after insulting their destination, calling it a city of sticks and mud huts before proceeding onwards.

His behaviour didn't escape Lewyn's attention, who started to grow concerned about the eldest Targaryen sibling.

"If my brother was given an army of Dothraki, could you conquer the Seven Kingdoms?" Daenerys asked as they moved on.

Lewyn rode up right behind her and Ser Jorah, and replied, "It's difficult to say."

The younger Targaryen sibling looked back at him, and asked, "How so?"

Ser Jorah then spoke up. "The Dothraki have never crossed the Narrow Sea. They fear any water their horses can't drink."

"But if they did?" Daenerys replied.

The Knight took a moment to think on his answer. "King Robert is fool enough to meet them in open battle, but the men advising him are different."

Daenerys looked at him curiously, asking, "And you know these men?"

"I fought beside them once, long ago." Ser Jorah replied. "Now Ned Stark wants my head. He drove me from my land."

For a moment, Daenerys was hesitant to point out the reason for his exile, knowing it was a topic he clearly didn't like to talk about.

But eventually she did, simply telling him, "You sold slaves."

A simple, "Aye." was her response.

"Why?" The Khaleesi proceeded to ask.

Jorah looked at her just as Lewyn leaned in a little, curious to hear his answer.

"I had no money, and an expensive wife." He simply replied.

The answer almost seemed to disappoint Lewyn a little, who was expecting a much different reason.

Daenerys then asked, "And where is she now?"

"In another place, with another man." The Knight said.

Despite the Knight not showing any emotion over the topic about his wife, both of them still couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Rather than continue the conversation, they decided to just leave the man be.

* * *

After settling down in the city, Lewyn had retired to his tent and shared a bathtub with Daenerys' handmaiden, Doreah, who was currently bathing him.

Before, it didn't escape Viserys' attention that Lewyn and Doreah had been glancing at each other a lot, and so, to keep his 'subject' happy, the elder Targaryen sibling gave Doreah to him, thinking, and hoping that the next time a Dothraki savage put their hands on him, Lewyn would HAVE to defend him this time.

Of course, in reality, this was really a ploy by Viserys, in an attempt to discover if whether or not Lewyn was as loyal as he said he was.

If he was, then giving Doreah to him would force him to defend Viserys the next time he was attacked, and confirm that he was indeed a loyal 'subject'.

But if that didn't happen, Viserys would know that the bastard from Dorne wasn't as loyal as he claimed to be.

Despite being aware that the elder Targaryen sibling was suspecting him, Lewyn chose not to concern himself about it too much, and instead focused his attention on the woman that was currently in the bathtub with him.

"My Prince?" Doreah quietly spoke to him, looking a little concerned.

Lewyn looked her in the eye and replied, "Apologies, I was just...thinking about something."

The handmaiden smiled again before closing the gap between them, leaning in and pressing her lips against his.

The young Dornishman was more than happy to return the gesture, kissing her two times before pulling away slightly, and asked her, "Tell me, how is the Khaleesi?"

"She's doing just fine, my Prince. She's adapting to her new role very well I must say." Doreah quietly replied.

Lewyn nodded a little. "Good, that's good. She has to."

Doreah tilted her head at him, pulling away and giving him a curious look. "If I may, my Prince, why exactly-"

"I'm not a Prince." Lewyn interrupted her.

The handmaiden chuckled a little, and replied, "If I remember correctly, you said your father is a Prince, did you not?"

Lewyn smirked at her response, and said, "Indeed I did." He leaned forward and exchanged a long kiss with her, before adding, "But my mother is not my fathers wife. In Westeros, any child born out of wedlock is known as a Bastard, which is why my surname is Sand, and not Martell."

The two exchanged a few kisses as Doreah straddled him, grinning as she whispered, "You poor thing. Does that not bother you?"

"Not in the slightest." Lewyn replied quietly as he slowly ran his hands down her body. "Bastards, as my father says, are born of passion in Dorne. We are loved greatly by our families, and I couldn't be more happy for it."

He stopped his hands at her hips, adding, "However, if there was, is, one thing I would ask for, it would be the name of our House. To be known as Lewyn Martell, is all I've ever wanted since I was old enough to think for myself, and I will do anything to make it happen."

Doreah just smiled and stared at him, before once again leaning in, pressing her lips to his. "A sixteen year old young man from Dorne. Sailing across the Narrow Sea to Essos, in hopes of proving himself to his family, and earning the right to inherit the family name. It almost sounds like a fairy tale."

Lewyn chuckled. "It does, doesn't it? Hopefully, it will be one with a happy ending."

"I do so enjoy happy endings." Doreah laughed a little as they kissed again.

Both wrapped their arms around each other and deepened their next kiss, and Lewyn was content with letting her take the lead as she grinded her lower lips against his crotch.

The handmaiden then quietly asked him, "And if you were to, inherit your family name, would it make you a Prince then?"

Lewyn thought for a moment on his answer, and replied, "I don't see why not."

"And after you receive the family name?" Doreah asked, adding, "I would imagine every handsome young Prince needs a wife to be his Princess."

Grinning at her response, Lewyn sat up a little and ran his hands down her back, quietly replying, "If you continue to praise and compliment me like that, then I may just consider choosing my future Princess sooner rather than later."

The handmaiden slipped a hand under the water and gently grabbed hold of something, earning a deep breath from the young Dornishman. "You have such an impressive cock for someone your age."

"So my father told me." Lewyn chuckled.

Doreah looked a little surprised at his response. "And how would he know?"

Again, Lewyn chuckled, and replied, "Let's just say, he wanted to make sure I was ready."

"Ready for...?" Doreah asked.

With his hands on her hips again, the young Dornishman lifted her a little, just enough to line up his cock before stabbing her with it. "Ready for my first."

The handmaiden grinned in response to his action, and looked at him with lustful eyes before whispering, "I'll try not to disappoint you."

Lewyn leaned back, pulling her with him, before pressing his lips to hers in a long kiss.

When the kiss was over, he pulled back a little, just enough to look her in the eye, their faces just an inch apart.

He then whispered back with a venomous smirk, "You better not."

* * *

 **King's Landing**

It was stressful enough for Ned Stark knowing that the tournament was still happening.

Adding to the stress was a troubling report from the Commander of the City Watch, which was the last thing Ned needed.

Brawls, riots and horseraces in the streets were only a few of the many disruptions in the city that Janos Slynt had informed him of, making it clear that he and his men were struggling to keep the peace.

Of course, it didn't help knowing it was the 'Hand's Tournament' that was cause for these disruptions, which Ned had to correct once again by stating it was the King's Tournament.

Ned then stated that he would provide twenty of his own household guard to help keep the peace, as well as commanding Littlefinger to find gold to pay for an expansion of fifty men for the City Watch.

When his business was done, Ned spoke to Maester Pycelle about Jon Arryn, and found out about a book he was reading shortly before his death. Pycelle simply tried to brush off the topic, calling it a ponderous tome.

But despite this, knowing about Jon Arryn's interest in the book made Ned curious as well, and so he decided to borrow it.

The book, 'The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms' was a ponderous tome, as Pycelle had stated.

Even so, Ned knew there must have been a reason for Jon Arryn's interest in the book, and took it back to his chambers.

Upon his return to his chambers, he had a brief conversation with Arya.

Seeing her taking her lessons seriously from the Braavosi he hired for her made Ned feel happy, although he wondered just far she was willing to go to perfect these lessons.

Even so, he didn't let it distract him from his investigation.

A while after, Littlefinger had informed him that Ser Hugh of The Vale, who had previously squired for Jon Arryn, had been knighted almost immediately after Jon's death, though what he was knighted for, was unknown.

Finding this suspicious, and with Littlefinger suggesting the idea, Ned sent Jory to question Ser Hugh.

Jory came back almost immediately after carrying out this task however, stating that Ser Hugh will only speak to the Hand himself, the former squire clearly having grown arrogant due to his new status as a knight.

Ned simply dismissed the former squires bad manners before following Littlefinger's advice to investigate a smithy that Jon Arryn had been visiting shortly before his death.

And, despite being against it, his eldest daughter Jocelyn had willingly accompanied him.

"We shouldn't be out here, my lord. There's no telling who has eyes where." Jory said as he, Ned and Jocelyn arrived at the Street of Steel.

Ned wasn't concerned however, simply replying, "Let them look."

Dismounting from their horses, Ned and Jocelyn started making their way to the smithy that Littlefinger had told him about earlier.

Even though he brushed off Jory's concerns about people looking at them, it did frustrate Ned when he noticed various men staring at his daughter, but if Jocelyn was able to calmly ignore them like she was, then he could too.

When they arrived at the smithy, Ned wasted little time asking the blacksmith and master armorer, Tobho Mott, about Jon Arryn and his visits.

"The former Hand did call on me, my lord, several times." The blacksmith explained. "I regret to say he did not honour me with his patronage."

This made Ned even more curious, prompting him to ask, "What did Lord Arryn want?"

"He always came to see the boy." Tobho replied.

"The boy?" Jocelyn repeated him, looking curious herself.

Ned looked over at the young man who was hammering away in the back, and said to the blacksmith, "I'd like to see him as well."

Tobho nodded. "As you wish, my lord." He looked over at the young man in the back and called him over. "Gendry!"

The young man, Gendry, put the hammer down and made his way towards the three.

"Here he is. Strong for his age. He works hard." Tobho added, looking rather proud of the young man.

Jocelyn offered a friendly smile as Gendry approached them. "It's nice to meet you."

Gendry half-smiled at her in return. "Likewise my lady."

"Show them the helmet you made, lad." Tobho said.

The young smith said nothing and went to retrieve the helmet, bringing it over and handing it to the Hand.

Ned examined the bull's head helmet, and looked rather impressed. "This is fine work."

"It's not for sale." Gendry replied almost immediately.

Tobho looked back at the young smith, surprised by his response, before replying, "Boy, this is the King's Hand! If his lordship wants the helmet..."

"I made it for me." Gendry refused again, clearly unwilling to part with the helmet.

Jocelyn couldn't help but be amused, failing to hold back a chuckle.

"Forgive him, my lord." Tobho said as Gendry sent Jocelyn a little smirk.

Ned wasn't bothered by his refusal however, and simply asked, "There's nothing to forgive. When Lord Arryn came to visit you, what would you talk about?"

Gendry shrugged. "He just asked me questions is all, my lord."

The Hand then proceeded to ask, "What kind of questions?"

When he received a nod from Tobho to answer, Gendry replied, "About my work, at first. If I was being treated well, if I liked it here. But then he started asking me about my mother."

"Your mother?" Ned replied.

Gendry nodded. "Who she was, what she looked like."

Ned then asked, "What did you tell him?"

"She died when I was little. She had yellow hair. She'd sing to me sometimes." The young smith explained.

As he replied, it didn't escape Jocelyn's notice that Gendry seemed a little reluctant to continue talking about the subject, as well as refusing to look at them as he spoke.

Silence followed for a moment as Gendry stared down at his feet, still refusing to look at them.

When a thought entered his mind, Ned told the young smith, "Look at me."

Gendry did as he was told and looked the man in the eye.

For a long moment, Ned just stared at him in silence.

Jocelyn also stared at him, curious as to what was going through her fathers mind.

But as she continued to stare at Gendry, she started to feel as if there was something really familiar about him.

Finally, her father spoke again as he handed the bull's head helmet back to Gendry. "Get back to work, lad."

Gendry took the helmet and returned to his work in silence.

Ned then spoke to Tobho, adding, "If the day ever comes when that boy would rather wield a sword than forge one, you send him to me."

Tobho said nothing, and simply nodded in response.

Watching her father leave, Jocelyn still looked a little confused, but decided to pay it no mind for now.

The eldest Stark daughter approached Gendry, and asked him, "My father sees something in you. I can tell."

Gendry shrugged. "I'm just a smith, my lady. Nothing special about me."

"Maybe there is, and you just don't know it yet." Jocelyn said, smiling at him.

The young smith said nothing, and simply continued to hammer away.

Jocelyn then asked, "If I may, could I perhaps make a special order?"

Gendry looked at her again, smirking a little. "What can I do for you?"

The eldest Stark daughter smiled in response. She had a few ideas in mind, but she ultimately ended up going with a specific one.

"I'd like you to make me a helmet as well."

* * *

Even though everything was still being prepared, Prince Derek Baratheon couldn't wait for the tournament and decided to get an early look before everyone else.

He had seen Ser Hugh of the Vale walking around the jousting field, and was still surprised that the former squire was able to obtain the armour he had so soon after being knighted.

Maybe he was borrowing the armour, or maybe he had some gold stashed away, then again the latter sounded a little too absurd.

Likely, the former squire was either borrowing the armour, or it was given to him, it had to be one of the two.

Besides Ser Hugh, Derek had seen a few other early arrivals.

Among them was Thoros of Myr, whom Derek had heard about many times before.

The man who led the charge through the breach at Pyke, wielding his flaming sword.

His father often liked to reminisce, so it was no surprise that the young Prince was able to identify Thoros really quickly.

At first, he was tempted to approach the man and ask him some questions, but ultimately decided against it and moved on to see who else he could find.

That was when he saw the sigil of House Clegane.

And standing under the banner, was Gregor Clegane.

The man more commonly known as The Mountain That Rides, or just The Mountain for short.

Derek didn't dare go anywhere near the giant man.

Even though he was loyal to House Lannister and the crown, that didn't make Derek any less afraid. The man was still dangerous, and it probably wouldn't take much to anger him, not that Derek had any intention of sticking around if some poor fool did make the fatal mistake of angering the giant man.

Ser Barristan Selmy, who had been silently accompanying him the entire time, noticed Derek's hesitation when he saw The Mountain, and said, "Perhaps we should return to the Red Keep, my Prince."

Derek walked on, replying, "Just a moment Ser Barristan."

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard followed, staying very close to the Prince's side.

Despite seeing some very promising looking warriors, Derek was looking for one in particular.

Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers.

But his search for the Knight was put to a stop when he found someone else.

Someone he didn't expect to see, but was happy nonetheless.

"Uncle Raymond!"

The middle son, Raymond Lannister, saw the young Prince running to him and greeted him, before asking. "Nephew, what are you doing out here?"

After giving him a hug, Derek replied, "I just thought I'd get an early look at the competition. What are you doing here?"

Raymond glanced over at Ser Barristan as he approached, before replying, "Let's just say I'm hoping to use the champion's purse to help pay for a certain someone's debt."

"Who? Who's in debt?" Derek asked, looking a little confused.

His Uncle refused to answer however. "It's probably better if you don't know that, nephew."

Rather than pry any further, Derek then asked, "I've seen some of the other Knights. Some of them look tough to beat."

"The Mountain is the only one who looks tough to beat." Raymond replied, glancing over at the Clegane banner. "He's the only man here who gives me reason to pause. With any luck, someone will beat him and save me the trouble of having to face him myself."

Ser Barristan then stepped forward, and said, "The only man here to give you reason to pause, Lord Raymond? Do you really think so little of me?"

Derek looked up at the Knight, and just remembered right there that he too was also participating.

Raymond then smirked a little at the Kingsguard, and added, "Ah, I see, you're taking part as well, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am. As is your brother, Ser Jaime." Ser Barristan said.

The Lannister almost frowned at the mention of his older brother, but managed to keep up a confident smirk. "Well then, I guess I better make sure I'm prepared for when I face you. I wouldn't want you to think I'm disrespecting you by giving you anything less than my best."

Ser Barristan chuckled a little at the challenge. "I'm looking forward to it."

"As am I. See you at the tournament, nephew." Raymond said before taking his leave.

Derek then looked up at the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and asked him, "You're going to face my Uncle, Ser Barristan?"

The Knight smiled at him, replying, "Of course. Assuming he and I don't end up facing someone else, and get eliminated in the process, then yes, we will face each other."

Upon hearing that response, Derek started to look a little conflicted.

"Something wrong, my Prince?" Ser Barristan asked.

The Prince shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Let's go."

Ser Barristan watched the boy leave, and couldn't help but feel concerned.

Was it something he said?

He couldn't tell, but decided to leave it be for now and followed the Prince back to the Red Keep.

* * *

 **Authors Notes: And that's that chapter over and done with. Yes I know, I suck at writing lemon, or slight lemon, or whatever you want to call it. Maybe I'll just get someone to handle writing the lemon stuff for me instead, if anyone would like to volunteer. And of course, I will put a lemon or slight lemon warning at the beginning of any chapters that have any just so no one can say I didn't warn them.  
**

 **That said, I'm going to try and have the next chapter focus only on the Hand's Tournament, so I can cover the entire event within the one chapter. As for why Raymond Lannister is participating in the tournament, well, besides someone's debt, that will be explained in the next chapter, though chances are some of you will probably already know why. If not, then, well, find out in the next chapter.  
**

 **Anyway, a** **s always, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	9. The Hand's Tourney

**This is one chapter I was actually looking forward to writing, though I regret to say I'm probably not that good at writing battles or fight scenes, but I'll try and do what I can anyway.**

 **On that note, I already have an idea as to how I'm going to end Season 1, but plans are subject to change.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury, Alexis Dayne belongs to Jason Kreuger Myers.**

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 9:  
'The Hand's Tourney'********

 **King's Landing**

The Hand's Tournament had finally begun and many were in attendance.

Among those present were Sansa, Arya and Septa Mordane, with the perfect view in the front row seats.

Their older sister Jocelyn eventually joined them, and brought their father with her, much to the Stark daughters' surprise.

Ned didn't want to attend 'his' Tournament, but Jocelyn was eager for him to watch the event with her and her sisters, and eventually the Hand of the King had to relent, unable to refuse his eldest daughter's harmless request.

And of course, the royal family were seated close by with their own perfect view of the field.

Joffrey, Myrcella, Derek and Tommen were seated in front of their parents, with The Hound standing guard behind Joffrey, as still as a statue.

Derek was seated away from Joffrey and next to his older sister, which didn't escape Sansa's notice when she glanced over at the family, clearly indicating that both Princes had not reconciled yet.

While she gave the blond-haired Prince a little smile, Joffrey didn't return Sansa's gesture and instead looked away from her, much to her dismay.

This didn't escape Derek's notice either, who had glanced over at the Stark daughters, and then his brother when he saw Sansa's smile fade away.

Eventually, they were then joined by Littlefinger himself.

"Lovers quarrel?" Littlefinger asked.

Sansa looked up at the man, obviously unfamiliar with him. "I'm sorry, do I...?"

"Sansa dear, this is Lord Baelish." Septa Mordane said, introducing him.

Littlefinger offered them a friendly smile, adding, "An old friend of the family. I've known your mother a long, long time."

Arya then jumped into the conversation. "Why do they call you Littlefinger?"

"Arya!" Sansa said, turning to her sister, feeling a little offended at her interruption.

"Don't be rude!" Septa Mordane then scolded the youngest Stark daughter.

Jocelyn chuckled at her little sister, while Ned kept his eyes on the field, uninterested in Littlefinger's explanation, but listened anyway.

Littlefinger then replied, "No, it's quite all right." He said before turning to Arya, adding, "When I was a child, I was very small. And I come from a little spit of land called The Fingers, so you see, it's an exceedingly clever nickname."

Before either could continue the conversation, King Robert had gotten up from his seat and called for the joust to start.

Derek was already on the edge of his seat, just as eager for it to begin as his father was.

He would have fallen out of his seat had his sister not warned him to sit back.

* * *

As expected, only the better warriors had established themselves as the potential winners of the joust.

Jory, who had also participated in the joust, defeated Ser Horas Redwyne and a member of House Frey before being eliminated by Lothor Brune by judgement of King Robert.

When he joined them in the crowd, Jocelyn praised his attempts, and the former competitor was grateful, thanking her for her support when she cheered for him.

Harwin and Alyn of Winterfell were both unhorsed by Ser Meryn Trant and Ser Balon Swann respectively.

Jaime Lannister was up next, and easily defeated Ser Andar Royce and Ser Bryce Caron.

Being close by as he rode, Jaime was easily able to hear and see Jocelyn Stark cheering him, and the Kingsguard couldn't help but return her cheers with a little wave and a smile.

When Jocelyn sat back down, Ned glanced slightly at his eldest daughter, unsure what to make of her cheering for the Kingslayer, but eventually decided to pay it no mind.

Ser Barristan Selmy was up, and Prince Derek cheered for his teacher as he defeated two opponents just as easily as his Uncle Jaime did.

Then came an unexpected matchup with an unexpected result.

Jaime Lannister and Ser Barristan faced each other next, and some in the crowd were conflicted on who to cheer for.

Rather than cheer for either, Derek stayed somewhat silent, and only cheered a little when his Uncle Jaime eventually unhorsed Ser Barristan in a close match.

Among the other competitors who were watching from the side, Raymond Lannister was furious when he watched his older brother defeat, who, in his opinion, was the better warrior.

His anger also came from the fact that he wouldn't get to face Ser Barristan in the joust, as if Raymond didn't already have enough reason to despise his brother.

After those two, Ser Hugh of the Vale was up next.

And his opponent, was Gregor Clegane, The Mountain.

"Gods, who's that?" Sansa asked, surprised at seeing the large man ride up before them.

Littlefinger looked over at the large man, and answered. "Ser Gregor Clegane. They call him The Mountain. The Hound's older brother."

Sansa then turned to Ser Hugh, asking, "And his opponent?"

"Ser Hugh of the Vale. He was Jon Arryn's squire. Look how far he's come." Littlefinger answered.

The former squire himself didn't look too confident, aware of who he was up against, but nonetheless bowed his head to the royal family.

"Yes, yes. Enough of the bloody pomp. Have at it!" Robert said out loud, simply eager to get the match started already.

The two knights rode to opposite sides of the field, retrieving their shields and lances before charging one another.

Despite The Mountain making an attempt to unhorse Ser Hugh, the first pass took its course with no contact.

When they reached opposite sides of the field, they turned and rode back down, charging one another yet again.

As they closed in, The Mountain reached forward, once more in an attempt to unhorse his opponent.

Only for his lance to strike and break against Ser Hugh's neck.

Many in the crowd rose from their seats while others, Sansa included, screamed in shock as Ser Hugh fell from his horse.

Everyone could only look on in horror as Ser Hugh, with a large splinter of The Mountain's lance stuck in his throat, coughed up blood.

The former squire continued to cough up blood, until finally, he ceased to move.

Arya was shocked beyond words, while Jocelyn tried her best to mask her reaction, but for once, failed to do so.

When their father asked if they were okay, Arya and Jocelyn nodded to assure him, while Sansa was still too distracted to respond.

It didn't help that the accident occurred right in front of the Stark daughters.

Elsewhere among the other competitors, Raymond silently cursed, kicking the ground as he dreaded the possibility of facing the giant man, a possibility that just increased thanks to his victory.

Derek had risen from his seat as the accident happened, and looked down at the now dead Ser Hugh with narrowed eyes.

He then cast his gaze towards The Mountain, giving him a suspicious glare.

"What's wrong Derek?"

The question had come from his mother.

When Derek turned to face her and saw her and his fathers eyes on him, he looked back just as Ser Hugh's body was dragged away, before replying, "...Nothing. It's nothing."

"Accidents are very common in jousting, Derek. This wasn't the first and it won't be the last." Robert explained.

As he seated himself back down next to his older sister, Derek looked down and noticed he wasn't the only one eyeing The Mountain suspiciously.

Jocelyn herself was glancing over at The Mountain. And she near enough had the same look in her eye as Derek did, except hers was obviously more subtle.

Littlefinger then turned to Sansa and, noticing the shocked look still on her face, quietly asked, "Not what you were expecting?"

"My sister doesn't see such things very often, Lord Baelish." Jocelyn replied to the man.

The Master of Coin nodded, "Understandable, Lady Jocelyn." He then turned back to Sansa, and asked, "Has anyone ever told you the story of The Mountain and The Hound?"

Sansa immediately looked over towards The Hound, who was standing just behind Joffrey.

And as they looked, it didn't escape Jocelyn's notice that The Hound himself did glance hatefully towards The Mountain, which made her very curious, just enough to want to hear the story as well.

Littlefinger then went on to explain, "Lovely little tale of brotherly love. The Hound was just a pup, six years old maybe. Gregor a few years older, already a big lad, already getting a bit of a reputation. Some lucky boys just born with a talent for violence. One evening, Gregor found his little brother playing with a toy by the fire...Gregor's toy, a wooden knight. Gregor never said a word, he just grabbed his brother by the scruff of his neck and shoved his face into the burning coals. Held him there while the boy screamed, while his face melted."

The Master of Coin made sure he told the story very quietly, adding, "There aren't very many people who know that story."

"I won't tell anyone. I promise." Sansa said, feeling a little worried now that she did know the story.

Littlefinger simply replied, "No, please don't. If The Hound so much as heard you mention it, I'm afraid all the knights in King's Landing would not be able to save you."

Jocelyn frowned softly at the Master of Coin. "I think the accident was enough. Please don't frighten my sister any further, Lord Baelish."

"Yes, of course, you're right. My apologies, Lady Sansa." Littlefinger quickly apologised after receiving the response from the eldest Stark daughter.

Sansa just shook her head. "No, it's fine."

While still concerned for her sister, Jocelyn went on to ask, "How do you know this story anyway, Lord Baelish?"

Littlefinger smiled a little, replying, "I've been in King's Landing for a long time, Lady Jocelyn. You'd be surprised at what you can learn just by listening to others."

"Is that so?" Jocelyn eyed him curiously, before turning her sights towards The Hound.

Specifically, she stared at the burn mark on his face and wondered what kind of person he was before that happened to him.

Maybe she'd ask him herself one day.

...Or maybe not.

* * *

Following the accident with Ser Hugh, the rest of the joust was put on temporary hold, and the tournament continued with the archery competition instead.

Naturally, the archery competition went by very quickly, and had eventually come down to just three men.

Of the three, Raymond Lannister was confident that Ser Balon Swann would win, as the latter had defeated him and showed great skill with a bow.

However, both Balon Swann and Jalabhar Xho, another of the remaining three, were ultimately defeated by the third remaining archer, Anguy of the Dornish Marches.

Raymond was a little angered by the result.

Not because the man who defeated him lost, but because an unknown like Anguy managed to win.

The Lannister didn't deny however that the archer was very skilled, he still hated the result though, but accepted it nonetheless.

He was just glad he refused to make a bet, otherwise he would have lost a lot of money.

* * *

The melee was up next, and Prince Derek was excited when he saw the various warriors ride out onto the field.

Among the competitors was Thoros of Myr, Beric Dondarrion and Raymond Lannister, the latter whom Derek and his siblings cheered for.

It was a little difficult at first to keep track of the competitors once the melee had started.

But once a number of competitors were eliminated and left the field, it was much easier to keep track of the favourites.

Thoros of Myr stuck out the entire time thanks to his flaming sword, which he used to frighten the other competitors mounts, and was a clear favourite to win.

Raymond Lannister was very aggressive and showed no signs of backing down, much to the delight of his family who had their eyes mostly on him.

Lord Beric Dondarrion showed great swordsmanship, and seemed to tie with Thoros and Raymond as the favourites to win.

One competitor stood out among them though.

A slim warrior covered from head to toe in silver armour, who was dual wielding swords and fought with a skill that attracted the attention of even Ned Stark himself.

It wasn't just the masterful swordsmanship that caught Ned's attention however.

As he looked on, several other competitors, Freys, watched as the lone swordsman easily knocked another competitor off of his horse, and quickly forced him to yield before he could get back to his feet.

The Freys exchanged looks before riding towards the swordsman, deciding to team up on him rather than face him one on one.

However, the numbers advantage didn't seem to make a difference.

By the time one Frey had reached him, the dual wielding swordsman quickly knocked the Frey from his horse, and turned just in time to block an incoming attack from the second.

The third Frey went in for a cheap shot, but the swordsman pulled back, barely dodging the blade. The swordsman then thrust one of his swords forward, so close, so very close to the Frey's face that he had to unhorse himself just to avoid the blow.

As the third recovered, the second Frey went in for another attack, swinging his sword at his opponent.

But the swordsman was one step ahead, blocking the attack with one sword, while using his other sword to strike at the vulnerable Frey.

Naturally, the Frey had no choice but to intentionally fall sideways and from his horse as a result in order to avoid an unwanted injury.

The first two Freys helped their friend to his feet, before proceeding to run after the swordsman.

Upon reaching the swordsman, they circled around him and slowly began to close in.

However, before either of the Freys could make a move, or react for that matter, the swordsman leaped from his horse and landed on one of them.

The unexpected move dropped the Frey to the ground, and the swordsman quickly got to his feet, just in time to parry both of the other Freys attacks.

Getting back to his feet, the first Frey joined his friends and the three continued to rush the swordsman with their attacks.

But the swordsman merely continued to back away, parrying every blow that came his way with such masterful swordsmanship that Thoros, Beric and Raymond had ceased fighting just for a moment to watch.

Ned continued to watch also, and the longer the fight had gone on, the more something seemed familiar about the swordsman.

The way he moved, his technique, the way he just effortlessly parried every blow that came his way, and, how he skilfully handled wielding two swords.

Something was very familiar about this swordsman.

Eventually, one of the Frey's tired himself out enough that he backed off.

His retreat had left an opening however, and the swordsman seized it.

He rushed forward, trapping one of the Frey's swords between his own, before pulling the sword from the man's grip.

The second Frey went in for an attack, but the swordsman made quick work of him, parrying the attack with one sword, while using the other sword to disarm him.

When the two Frey's backed off, the swordsman pointed one blade at them.

Hands raised in defeat, one Frey said, "Yield, we yield."

The swordsman turned his blade to the third Frey, who then quickly cast his sword aside. "I yield." He said before backing away.

All three of the Frey's then turned and left in a hurry.

"Did you see that? He handled those three like they were nothing!" Arya said to her sister.

Jocelyn nodded, looking at the swordsman with narrowed eyes. "Indeed he did."

The melee continued on for almost three hours. To no ones surprise, most of the eliminations came at the hands of either Thoros or the unknown swordsman.

Soon enough, the melee had come down to just four competitors.

All four met face to face, trying to decide who to target first.

Two of them, Beric and Thoros, exchanged glances with each other, while Raymond looked back and forth between the three of them. The unknown swordsman however, simply remained as still as a statue, waiting for one of them to attack first.

They then made their moves.

Raymond Lannister decided to target the one he deemed the biggest threat, which was Thoros and his flaming sword.

Which left Beric Dondarrion with the unknown swordsman.

The older fighter smirked a little at his opponent as he closed in for an attack.

But the unknown swordsman, who many in the crowd had begun to cheer for, easily parried his blade.

Beric then went in for a second strike, which his opponent had used both of his weapons to block.

Closing in until his face was inches from the swordsman's helmet, Beric said, "That was an impressive display, it is easy to see why you were chosen."

Rather than respond, the swordsman pushed his opponent back before bringing his swords down on him.

Beric slowly backed away as he parried each attack, but the swordsman was so quick that it was very difficult for the Lord of Blackhaven to keep up.

Soon enough, the skill of the unknown swordsman had proven to be too much for Beric, and his sword was eventually separated from his hand.

Looking down at his sword, an attempt to reach for it was stopped completely when the swordsman pointed one of his blades at him. "Yield."

Beric looked into the slits of his opponents helmet, as if contemplating whether to yield or not.

Eventually, he smiled, and raised his hands in defeat. "Very well, I yield. You disarmed me fair and square."

The swordsman lowered his blade and turned to the remaining two competitors.

Before he left however, Beric leaned in and whispered to him, "Lord Stark is watching."

As the Lord of Blackhaven took his leave, the unknown swordsman slowly turned and looked into the crowd.

Ned Stark could tell right away that the unknown competitor was staring right at him.

"Father, I think he's staring right at you." Jocelyn said.

The Hand of the King nodded, simply replying, "I know."

Eventually, the unknown swordsman's gaze left Ned, turning it to his remaining opponents.

Thoros and Raymond clashed with such ferocity and aggression that their fight had even King Robert himself on the edge of his seat.

Raymond raised and swung his greatsword down at the older man, but Thoros quickly sidestepped it, and smirked at the Lannister. "Greatswords are much heavier than regular swords Lord Raymond. If you don't swing fast enough, you'll be dead before you can even use it."

The Lannister glared at his opponent and raised his greatsword again, this time resting it on his shoulder as he slowly closed in, preparing to swing it once more.

Backing away to keep his distance, Thoros tightened his grip around his sword, about ready to make his move.

When his eyes found something else, the older man lowered his weapon and did the unexpected.

"I yield."

Raymond's eyes widened in surprise, his shocked expression shared almost by everyone in the crowd.

"What did you say?" Raymond asked.

Thoros grinned as he raised a hand in defeat. "I yield. Even if I beat you, I already know I have no chance of winning the melee."

Backing away, Thoros then added, "And plus, it's not often you get to see two famous swords clashing with each other. A rare opportunity indeed."

As the older man backed out and left, Raymond slowly turned and faced the approaching swordsman whose identity remained unknown.

The crowd cheered for both competitors, having been greatly entertained by the display and effort put forth by the two of them.

Raymond rested his greatsword on his shoulder, holding it by two hands as he eyed his opponent up and down.

The unknown swordsman adjusted his stance a little, raising both of his swords slightly.

His stance hinted at his caution, clearly indicating that the swordsman was making sure he was careful, aware that Raymond's greatsword would do some damage if he made a mistake.

Finally, the Lannister lunged forward, raising his greatsword into the air before swinging it down at the swordsman.

His opponent, like Thoros, had sidestepped it. He then moved to bring one sword up to the Lannister's neck, but Raymond quickly brought his sword up to guard against the attack.

Acting fast, Raymond raised the sword and swung again, sideways this time.

This forced the swordsman to back away, just barely missing the tip of the large sword.

Raymond then followed up his attack with another sideways swing.

Again, his opponent backed away.

With the swordsman a short distance away from him, Raymond decided to try for a running attack.

Resting his greatsword on his shoulder, Raymond sprinted as fast as he could towards his opponent.

He then turned swiftly, using the spin to increase the speed of his swing.

The swordsman quickly jumped aside and dodged the attack successfully. But before he could retaliate, Raymond spun around a second time, bringing the greatsword with him in a sideways swing.

His opponent just barely brought up both of his swords in time to guard against the surprisingly quick attack.

A loud clang, probably louder than it should have been, erupted around the two following the clash between Raymond's greatsword, and one of the swords being wielded by his opponent, who stumbled back a few steps following the attack.

The swordsman then noticed Raymond panting and, knowing another opportunity was unlikely to present itself, went on the offensive.

Raymond backed away in surprise as the swordsman barraged him with a flurry of strikes.

Attacks that the Lannister was struggling to keep up with due to having wasted most of his energy swinging the damn greatsword at Thoros.

The weight of his greatsword made it difficult to be knocked aside, but the exhaustion was starting to get to Raymond, making it difficult just to raise the sword let alone swing it.

Feeling what little energy he had left leaving him, Raymond decided to gamble with one last attack.

When the swordsman rushed forward with his next swing, Raymond parried the blow before spinning around, using all of the strength in his body to complete one final swing.

He spun around and swung down the greatsword at his opponent.

But his lack of energy prevented him from being quicker than usual, and as he somewhat expected, the swordsman had managed to sidestep with ease.

That last attempt had brought Raymond down on a knee, and left him vulnerable as the swordsman raised one of his blades to the Lannister's face.

Raymond just glared up at the helmet of his opponent, unwilling to accept defeat.

And yet, he couldn't continue to fight on either, thanks to Thoros costing him a lot of his stamina.

Panting with exhaustion, and with no other option, Raymond said between breaths, "I...yield..."

The swordsman lowered his weapon as the crowd eventually erupted into a loud cheer.

Raymond sighed, and looked at the gold lion on the pommel of his greatsword.

It seemed like he just didn't have any luck at all. First he failed to win the archery competition, and now he failed to win the melee, the one competition he was confident he could win.

Yet, today was clearly just not his day.

Using his greatsword as support, he began to push himself back to his feet.

When the unknown swordsman offered a hand, Raymond just stared at him for a brief second before proceeding to push himself back to his feet, without the offered assistance.

Raymond stared at the swordsman's helmet, before bringing his gaze down on one of his swords.

After giving the sword a long, hard look, Raymond looked back for a brief second before turning and taking his leave.

Derek, despite being upset that his Uncle had lost, applauded the unknown swordsman nonetheless, having followed his performance since he singlehandedly defeated the three Frey's.

With the melee concluded, the swordsman approached the crowd, bowing as the King rose from his seat, applauding him. "A splendid performance! Remove your helmet, ser."

The swordsman did as he was asked and removed his helmet.

Sansa and many others in the crowd were expecting a handsome young man to be behind the helmet.

The swordsman was no man at all however.

Rather, the swordsman turned out to be a beautiful young woman.

Upon revealing her face to the crowd, many gasped, many went silent, and some whispered amongst each other.

Of everyone in the crowd, only Ned Stark rose from his seat when saw the young woman's face.

And for a moment, he thought he was seeing a ghost.

Her face, her long dark hair, her haunting violet eyes.

Eyes that slowly turned and stared directly at him.

"Ashara…?" Ned quietly muttered to himself.

Sansa then turned and asked Littlefinger, "Who is she?"

Littlefinger smiled, and answered, "Alexis Dayne. Elder sister to the Lord of Starfall, niece of Ser Arthur Dayne and Lady Ashara Dayne. And, also currently known as the Sword of the Morning."

Sansa looked shocked, unsure of what to say at such a revelation.

Arya, however, looked amazed and excited at the same time.

Jocelyn was very impressed by the young woman's performance, but she started to grow concerned about her father, who had yet to remove his gaze from the winner of the melee.

King Robert, who had also gone silent upon seeing her face, eventually broke his silence before announcing, "Behold...your champion!"

The silence was eventually drowned out by the cheering of the crowd, and Alexis bowed her head with a half-smile before taking her leave to fetch her prize.

Ned watched her leave, and then found himself locking eyes with Robert, who also looked like he had seen a ghost.

The Hand eventually seated himself once again, and muttered to himself.

"I'm surrounded by ghosts."

* * *

 **Authors Notes: I was hoping to cover the entire Tournament in this one chapter but figured it was long enough so I decided to stop it there. Yes, I suck at writing battles and fight scenes, but I'd like to think I'm improving in that particular area. The Tournament will end next chapter, where some questions will also be answered. And yes, I decided to use Dawn from the show instead of the books, as I personally believe it allows the wielder to display their swordsmanship at their best when wielding two swords instead of one, and dual wielding swords looks a lot cooler too.  
**

 **I also left a visible clue about another particular sword, and if you were paying attention and you're knowledgeable about Valyrian Steel swords, you'll know which one I'm referring to. As for why and how it's there, that will be explained at some point in a later chapter.**

 **Anyway, as usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	10. Sword of the Morning

**The final season of Game of Thrones seems so close and yet so far, just by how long each day is taking to pass by apparently. I think the season is honestly overdue for a trailer at this point, so hopefully they reveal one soon. The recent teaser doesn't count since it didn't exactly show footage from the season.**

 **Also the OC role for House Arryn has been taken. Just so everyone is aware, there are only two roles remaining that I'll be looking to have filled at some point in the future. I appreciate those who contributed their characters.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury,** **Lewyn Sand belongs to MineyMo,** **Alexis Dayne belongs to Jason Kreuger Myers.**

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 10:  
'Sword of the Morning'********

 **Essos**

Daenerys should have known that her brother would have misinterpreted her invitation.

What was supposed to be an invitation to dinner, only ended up infuriating the eldest Targaryen sibling, thinking that, yet again, his younger sister was commanding him. He reacted even more angrily when his sister offered him fresh Dothraki clothing, which he threw at her.

The argument that followed eventually got physical when Viserys put his hands on her.

Until Daenerys, for the first time in her life, fought back against him by hitting across the face with a heavy golden belt.

The stunned Viserys eventually backed off and left when Daenerys angrily reminded him of her position as Khal Drogo's wife and threatened him to never to lay a hand on her again, lest he wanted to lose both hands.

Naturally, when she brought this up when meeting with Ser Jorah and Lewyn, the latter was very surprised.

"I hit him. I hit the Dragon." Daenerys had told them, still in disbelief that she had struck her brother.

Ser Jorah decided to soothe her worry, replying, "Your brother Rhaegar was the last Dragon. Viserys is less than the shadow of a snake."

Daenerys didn't looked too sure however. "He is still the true King."

"The truth now." Jorah said, before asking her, "Do you want to see your brother sitting on the Iron Throne?"

The question caught Lewyn's attention, and he could easily see the hesitation in Daenerys' eyes.

"No." She finally responded. "But the common people are waiting for him. Illyrio said they are sewing dragon banners and praying for his return."

Jorah looked a little amused at her response. "The common people pray for rain, health and a summer that never ends. They don't care what games the high Lords play."

Lewyn smirked a little. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

Daenerys looked the knight in the eye and asked, "What do you pray for, Ser Jorah?"

The older man took a moment to think on his response, before simply telling her, "Home."

"I pray for home too." Daenerys said, nodding in agreement before stating what she realised a while ago. "My brother will never take back the Seven Kingdoms. He couldn't lead an army even if my husband gave him one." She looked back at knight, adding, "He'll never take us home."

Lewyn decided to make his thoughts known. "I'm afraid you might be right, Khaleesi. Though I wish it wasn't the case, you might be right."

The two looked at the young man, Daenerys then asked, "What do you mean?"

"Honestly, when I first met him, I believed your brother had great potential." Lewyn said, before adding, "But very quickly, I began to see his many flaws."

Daenerys smirked a little, and replied, "He's arrogant and quick to anger?"

Lewyn chuckled in response. "Two of many flaws." He sighed, and then added, "He was the sole reason I came all the way over here in the first place. To see what kind of person he really is now, it makes me question why I haven't returned home yet. There's nothing here for me now."

"You haven't realised it?" Ser Jorah asked.

When Lewyn looked at him, confused, the knight added, "You haven't gone home yet because you've found someone better than Viserys."

The bastard from Dorne still looked confused.

It was only after the knight looked over at Daenerys, that Lewyn understood what he meant.

"Yes..." Lewyn said, looking at the younger Targaryen sibling. "You might be right. I think I have found someone better. Someone who could do what Viserys can't."

Daenerys smiled a little at his words, and asked, "Would I be correct in assuming this means you intend to serve me instead of my brother?"

Lewyn nodded, bowing his head. "I would gladly serve you, Khaleesi. If you will have me, that is."

Placing her hands gently on his cheeks, Daenerys quietly replied, "I'd be happy to have you, Lewyn."

The bastard from Dorne was delighted that the younger Targaryen sibling accepted him with open arms.

Her acceptance also rekindled his desire to see someone else sit on the Iron Throne.

And that someone was not Viserys.

* * *

 **King's Landing**

Following the melee, the rest of the Hand's Tournament was postponed until tomorrow.

And when tomorrow finally did come, Ned Stark, accompanied by Jocelyn, were some of the first to return to the jousting field.

Upon their arrival, the two of them entered the tent where Ser Hugh's body was being tended to by the Silent Sisters.

Ser Barristan, who was also inside the tent, greeted them with a nod and a smile, the latter of which he simply exchanged with Jocelyn.

"Does Ser Hugh have any family in the capital?" Ned asked.

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard simply replied, "No. I stood vigil for him myself last night. He had no one else."

Jocelyn smiled a little at him, and said, "That was very kind of you, Ser Barristan."

Ser Barristan returned her smile again.

"He'd never worn this armour before." Ned said as he looked over at Ser Hugh's armour.

The Kingsguard nodded, and replied, "Bad luck for him. Going against The Mountain."

Jocelyn then said, "I believe it's bad luck for anyone to go up against The Mountain, actually. No sane man would willingly challenge that...monster."

Ned turned to the Kingsguard and asked, "Who determines the draw?"

"All the knights draw straws, Lord Stark." Ser Barristan answered.

Despite the response, Ned wasn't fully convinced. "Aye. But who holds the straws?" He then turned to the Silent Sisters, adding, "You've done good work, sisters." He said before leaving the tent, Jocelyn and Ser Barristan following right behind him.

"Life is strange. Not so many years ago we fought as enemies at the Trident." Ser Barristan said as a squire attached his white cloak to his armour.

As they walked on, Ned replied, "I'm glad we never met on the field, Ser Barristan, as is my wife. I don't think the widow's life would suit her."

Jocelyn chuckled at her father's words, as did Ser Barristan. "You're too modest. I've seen you cut down a dozen great knights."

"My father once told me you were the best he'd ever seen." Ned replied, adding, "I never knew the man to be wrong about matters of combat."

Ser Barristan didn't argue with that, knowing full well how wise Rickard Stark was. "He was a fine man, your father. What the Mad King did to him was a terrible crime."

Ned then gestured back towards the tent, and asked, "And that lad. He was a squire until a few months ago. How could he afford a new suit of armour?"

The Kingsguard shrugged, and simply suggested, "Perhaps Lord Arryn left him some money?" He said before adding, "I hear the King wants to joust today."

Jocelyn recoiled a little in surprise. "King Robert wants to take part in the joust?"

"Yes, that will never happen." Ned said almost immediately.

Ser Barristan laughed a little, replying, "Robert tends to do what he wants."

The Hand of the King didn't seem to approve however. "If the King got what he wanted all the time, we'd still be fighting a damned rebellion."

As they neared the King's tent, the three stopped in their tracks when they saw Alexis Dayne approaching them.

Rather than appearing in her armour, the new Sword of the Morning was simply wearing a fine violet dress today, with a certain sword strapped around her waist.

And just like yesterday, Ned mistook her for someone else.

"Lord Stark." Alexis said with a friendly smile. "It's an honour to finally meet you."

Ned hesitated to respond, struggling to find the words he wanted to say.

Jocelyn then spoke up. "It's an honour to meet you as well Lady Alexis. Your performance yesterday was amazing, I can see why you were chosen as the new Sword of the Morning."

Alexis returned her words with a kind smile, and replied, "You're not the first Stark to tell me so. I met your youngest sister in the city, she overpraised me quite a bit."

"Praise well deserved Lady Alexis." Ser Barristan said.

Rather than a response, Alexis just glanced at the Kingsguard with a subtle frown, before looking back at Ned, asking, "You knew my aunt, Ashara Dayne, didn't you, Lord Stark?"

Ned finally found his voice again, and replied, "Indeed I did. You look just like her, in fact."

"So much so that you thought that I was her for a moment, no?" Alexis said with a half-smile.

The Hand looked unsure of how to respond.

Alexis laughed a little, and added, "It's quite all right, Lord Stark. I've been mistaken for my aunt many times."

"I know exactly how that feels." Jocelyn said with a chuckle, earning a glance from her father.

The Sword of the Morning then tapped the sword at her side, and asked, "I believe you are familiar with Dawn?"

Ned then grinned a little, and replied, "Indeed. How could I ever forget the sword that almost took off my own head."

Alexis nodded, her smile lowering a little. "I'm very grateful that you returned it years ago. And I'm especially grateful that you killed that traitor Uncle of mine."

Her words caught all three of them off guard.

Jocelyn, doing her best to mask her shocked expression, asked, "How can you say that? Ser Arthur Dayne was your uncle, and he was one of the-"

"If you do not mind, Lady Jocelyn, I'd much rather avoid talking about that traitor." Alexis said, smile gone now, replaced by a stoic stare.

Before the eldest Stark daughter could continue, Ned then spoke up. "My daughter isn't wrong though, Lady Alexis. Ser Arthur Dayne was your uncle, why speak ill of him like that?"

Alexis sighed, keeping up her stoic look as she asked, "My uncle willingly aided Rhaegar Targaryen in abducting your sister Lyanna Stark years ago. Was it not that very kidnapping that started a war and tens of thousands of innocent lives were lost because of it?"

Neither of the three could really argue against such a reason.

"Arthur Dayne was supposed to be a knight who defended the weak and the innocent. Instead, he assisted Rhaegar in abducting the daughter of the Warden of the North, stood back and did nothing as the 'Good Prince' raped her." Alexis said, doing her best to keep a stoic look. "By standing by and doing nothing, he broke his oath. My Uncle is a disgrace to House Dayne, and I'm glad he paid for his crimes."

Ser Barristan finally spoke up. "Ser Arthur Dayne was a good man, Lady Alexis."

Alexis gave the Kingsguard a subtle glare. "If he was truly a good man, Ser Barristan, he would not have aided Rhaegar in starting a war in which tens of thousands lost their lives."

"Do you think your aunt Ashara would share the same opinion?" The Kingsguard asked.

The new Sword of the Morning continued to glare at him, a glare that was hardened when he brought up her aunt. "My aunt, was driven to suicide because of my foolish uncle's death. But..."

She looked down at her feet, and added, "All blame for my aunt's suicide lies solely with my uncle. If he simply hadn't followed that bastard Rhaegar, perhaps he'd still be alive, and my aunt would be as well."

Taking in a deep breath, Alexis then looked back at Ned, and said, "Which was something I was hoping to tell you, Lord Stark. I want you to know, that I do not blame you at all for my aunt's suicide. That was my uncle's fault, and Rhaegar's for starting the war that cost him his life."

Jocelyn then said, "I've heard there were other reasons why Lady Ashara was driven to suicide."

Before Alexis could respond, Ser Barristan spoke up. "Apologies but, I must take my leave now, farewell." He said before walking away.

When the Kingsguard was gone, Ned said, "He was fond of Ashara."

"I know. It pains me to remember her just as it does him I imagine." Alexis said with a sigh.

An awkward silence followed for a brief moment, before the Sword of the Morning added, "My apologies. It wasn't my intention to-"

Ned held up a hand, stopping her. "No need to apologise, Lady Alexis. Everything is in the past now."

Alexis looked a little surprised at his response, and added, "But for my uncle's actions, assisting Rhaegar in abducting your sister years ago, I feel an apology on behalf of my House is-"

Once more, Ned stopped her, and replied, "Like I said, everything is in the past now. There's no need for apologies anymore."

The Sword of the Morning looked a little reluctant to accept his response, but she could see he was intent on standing by his decision, and eventually relented. "Very well."

Jocelyn then decided to change the subject, and asked, "Would you like to watch the rest of the joust with us?"

Alexis smiled again, and nodded. "I'd be glad to."

Ned just nodded his approval before proceeding to make his way to the King's tent.

* * *

The joust had continued and a large crowd had returned to witness which of the remaining competitors would emerge as the champion.

Ned was surprised when he discovered that Arya wasn't present, and learned from Sansa that she was at her dancing lessons, though Jocelyn added that it was also due to being inspired by the Sword of the Morning, that Arya wanted to continue said lessons.

Despite not making such a big deal out of it, Alexis couldn't stop the praise given to her by the Starks.

Eventually, Prince Derek then joined them, much to the surprise of them all, prompting Sansa to ask, "Prince Derek? Why are you-"

"I asked my father if I could sit here." Derek said as he seated himself in the empty spot next to Jocelyn. "I noticed there was a little space, so I wanted to fill it."

The black-haired Prince then looked over at Alexis, and added, "I also wanted to meet the new Sword of the Morning. You were absolutely amazing yesterday, my lady."

Alexis smiled in response. "Thank you, my Prince."

Derek then asked, "I heard rumours that a new Sword of the Morning was chosen. And I'd heard that her skill was on par with Ser Arthur Dayne himself. At first, I didn't think it was possible, but after what I saw yesterday, I'm very much convinced."

There was a visible sign of subtle anger at the mention of her uncle, but Alexis managed to keep up her smile as she replied, "Um, thank you, my Prince."

Jocelyn leaned in and whispered to the Prince, "My Prince, perhaps it would be wise not to speak of her uncle around her."

When Derek looked up at her, confused, he quietly asked, "Why not?"

"It's...complicated." Was all Jocelyn said before turning her gaze back to the joust.

Rather than continue the conversation, Derek decided to heed the Stark daughters advice and refrained from mentioning Ser Arthur Dayne any further.

* * *

The Mountain was up next again and easily defeated an unknown rider, much to the dismay of Raymond Lannister.

Again, the large man from House Clegane proceeded to defeat another competitor, Ser Balon Swann this time.

"I don't believe this. I'm actually going to have to face this fucker aren't I?" Raymond said to himself as he watched The Mountain leave the jousting field with another victory.

Much to Prince Derek's surprise, his uncle Renly Baratheon had entered the joust.

But unfortunately, King Robert's younger brother was paired up against the other Clegane brother, The Hound.

Despite performing surprisingly well, Renly was eventually unhorsed by The Hound, which didn't surprise Derek.

Not long after his defeat, Renly seated himself back in the crowd, not far behind Derek, who praised his attempts, which he was thankful for.

Lord Beric Dondarrion didn't last long, defeating a hedge knight, only to be defeated by Thoros of Myr afterwards, much to Alexis' disappointment.

After three tilts, the match between Ser Aron Santagar and Lothor Brune resulted in a draw.

Ser Aron Santagar then went on to be unhorsed by Lord Jason Mallister, while Lothor Brune went on to be unhorsed by Ser Robar Royce.

Raymond Lannister was up next.

And, with his defeat in the melee fuelling his determination, the Lannister proceeded to defeat Ser Meryn Trant and two more knights of the Kingsguard.

Finally, a competitor that Derek himself was waiting to see finally arrived.

"The Knight of the Flowers." Sansa said as a young man in beautiful white armour approached.

Loras Tyrell slowly approached, and handed Sansa a rose. "Thank you Ser Loras." The Stark daughter said gently as she accepted the rose.

As the knight backed away, it didn't escape Derek or Jocelyn's notice that Ser Loras exchanged a very brief and very subtle glance with someone behind them.

Though as he rode up to meet his competition, they decided to pay it no mind and simply focused on the joust.

With Derek among those cheering, Ser Loras then went on to unhorse Ser Robar Royce, and eventually Thoros of Myr.

Raymond Lannister then faced off against Lord Jason Mallister and just barely managed to defeat the man, offering a handshake as a sign of respect afterwards, much to the delight of the crowd.

It then came down to the Semi-Finals.

An unexpected result came to the shock of everyone when Sandor Clegane, The Hound, managed to unseat Jaime Lannister.

While many were shocked at the outcome, one person was furious.

Raymond silently cursed his luck and glared death as he watched The Hound ride away with the victory that Raymond himself had been waiting to claim. He wanted to be the one to unseat Jaime, to humiliate and embarrass him in front of everyone.

Yet, that was no longer an option thanks to the younger Clegane brother.

Even so, nothing could be done now, and Raymond simply rode up to face his next opponent.

The Knight of Flowers, Ser Loras, was his opponent.

However, despite two close tilts, Raymond was too distracted by his anger that Jaime was eliminated before he could eliminate him himself, and the distraction cost him dearly when Ser Loras, on the third tilt, managed to unseat Raymond from his horse.

Despite being upset that his uncle was eliminated, Derek cheered nonetheless along with the Stark girls and the rest of the crowd.

When Ser Loras offered him a handshake as a sign of respect, Raymond almost refused, but eventually cast his anger aside to accept it, once again to the crowds joy.

The Mountain was up next to face Ser Loras, and both knights bowed before King Robert before their match.

Suddenly, The Mountain's stallion started to act unruly, but the large man quickly managed to get it back under control before he and Ser Loras rode to opposite sides of the field to retrieve their shields and lances, cheered on by the crowd.

This didn't escape Derek's attention, who leaned in and quietly asked Jocelyn, "Did you see that?"

"Yes. I did." Jocelyn quietly replied, looking on with a neutral stare.

As the two knights prepared themselves, Sansa clutched on to her fathers arm. "Don't let Ser Gregor hurt him."

"Hey." Ned said, taking her hand to reassure her.

"I can't watch." Sansa added, looking very concerned for the Knight of Flowers.

Littlefinger, who was seated behind them, turned and said out loud, "A hundred gold dragons on The Mountain."

Renly immediately answered him. "I'll take that bet."

"Now what will I buy with a hundred gold dragons?" Littlefinger asked, confident that he was going to win the bet. "A dozen barrels of Dornish wine? Or a girl from the pleasure houses of Lys?"

"Or you could even buy a friend." Renly replied, much to Littlefinger's amusement.

While Alexis rolled her eyes at the exchange between the two, Derek looked up at Jocelyn and asked, "Pleasure houses are the same as brothels aren't they?"

The eldest Stark daughter recoiled in surprise at the question, before replying, "They're similar. While they are..." She stopped for a moment, and then said, "Why are you even asking about such things!"

Derek looked away, looking a little embarrassed now. "Um...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like that. I remember when I brought it up one time around my mother, she, well, she wasn't mad exactly but..."

The Sword of the Morning then leaned over a little and said, "Once you come of age, my Prince, you can see what they are for yourself."

"I-I know what they are!" Derek said.

Alexis chuckled a little and asked, "Don't you think it's a little too early for you to know about such things? Wait a few years first and then you will understand."

Derek just looked at her, confused.

Jocelyn then spoke up again, "How about we stop talking about this and focus on the joust."

"O-Ok?" The black-haired Prince replied, looking back as the two knights finished preparing themselves.

Sansa, who was still holding her father's arm, quietly said to him, "He's going to die."

Ned gently patted her hand, assuring her again, "Ser Loras rides well."

As soon as the trumpet was blown, both competitors rode down their lanes towards each other.

Many in the crowd were already convinced that The Mountain would claim another victory.

As they got closer and closer, Prince Derek was on the edge of his seat, and would have fallen off if the eldest Stark daughter hadn't pulled him back.

Finally, the two knights reached each other.

Despite everyone expecting at least three tilts, the most unexpected result came at the first, shocking the entire crowd, except Ned and Alexis.

The Knight of Flowers unseated The Mountain.

Many in the crowd gasped at the result, while others who were seated had gotten to their feet, still trying to convince themselves that the result was real.

"Such a shame, Littlefinger." Renly said to the disappointed Master of Coin. "It would have been so nice for you to have a friend."

Littlefinger simply chuckled, and asked, "And tell me, Lord Renly, when will you be having **your** friend?" He said, gesturing towards the Knight of Flowers.

Renly looked towards Ser Loras for just a moment, before sitting back down, unwilling to respond.

Upon sitting back down, Littlefinger leaned in between Ned and Sansa, and quietly said to them, "Loras knew his mare was in heat. Quite crafty, really."

Alexis, hearing him, nodded a little. "Against a man like The Mountain? I can hardly blame him."

Sansa didn't seem too convinced however. "Ser Loras would never do that. There's no honour in tricks."

"No honour, but quite a bit of gold." Littlefinger simply replied.

While Ser Loras waved at the cheering crowd and bowed to the King, The Mountain removed his helmet, throwing it aside before calling for his sword.

A squire ran to him with a large sword, which Ser Gregor removed from its sheath.

Most of the crowd were too busy cheering for Ser Loras to pay attention to the large man, but Derek's gaze was on him the entire time, as was Jocelyn's.

To their shock, The Mountain raised his sword and with one powerful swing, completely severed his horse's head.

The brutal move eventually caught the full attention of the stunned crowd, and Ser Loras, who The Mountain approached.

Ser Gregor swung his large sword at the man who unseated him, but the Knight of Flowers managed to bring up his shield just in time to avoid a serious injury.

It didn't stop him from being knocked off of his horse however.

Trying to recover quickly as he fell to the ground, Ser Loras used his shield to block Ser Gregor's sword once again.

Alexis, who had gotten to her feet, reached for Dawn, but Ned grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her. "Don't." He simply said.

Before the Sword of the Morning could respond, someone else came to the aid of Ser Loras.

"Leave him be!"

The Hound rushed down between the two knights and stopped The Mountain's next attack with his own sword, before pushing the larger man back.

Both Clegane's glared at each other. For a moment, it seemed like both would stand down and back off.

Instead however, the Clegane's moved forward and proceeded to fight each other aggressively.

They exchanged several blows, some just barely avoided.

Despite his brother still being larger than him, The Hound held his own just fine, surprising many in the crowd, like Derek, who didn't think anyone was capable of going head to head with The Mountain.

Eventually, just when it seemed like the fight was about to become even more aggressive, King Robert rose from his seat and shouted.

"STOP THIS MADNESS IN THE NAME OF YOUR KING!"

The Hound, dodging one last swing, brought himself down on one knee, bowing to the King.

The Mountain however, just glared at the Baratheon before casting his sword aside and storming off.

"Let him go!" Robert said to two Kingsguard that blocked Ser Gregor's path, both quickly standing aside to allow the older Clegane brother to leave.

Everyone was silent now that things had calmed down, much to Derek's relief.

"Why did you stop me?" Alexis asked Ned as she seated herself.

Ned then replied, "It doesn't matter does it? Ser Loras is alive and well."

The Sword of the Morning didn't look too pleased with his answer, thinking there was more to it, but eventually just decided to let it go.

Ser Loras then approached The Hound, and said, "I owe you my life, Ser."

"I'm no Ser." Was all The Hound said.

The Knight of Flowers then raised The Hound's hand, earning a loud cheer from everyone.

Even though there was supposed to be one more round of jousting between Ser Loras and The Hound to determine the tournament winner, the Knight of Flowers forfeited the last round to the younger Clegane brother, proclaiming him the champion, much to the delight and approval of the crowd.

The Hound didn't object.

He got the victory and the champion's purse after all.

* * *

 **Authors Notes: I feel like I rushed this chapter a bit, but I was stressed out in the time I was writing it and just decided to get it over and done with. The next chapter will focus a bit on after the tournament, and depending on how much is written, I might also finally return North, since I haven't written about anything in the North for quite a few chapters now.**

 **That said, I usually type a thousand words per day, so the time it takes to write and finish a chapter really depends on the length of said chapter.**

 **Anyway, as usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	11. Chasing Cats

**A few unexpected things recently came up and prevented me from getting started on this chapter for a good few days, and when I finally did start writing the chapter I forgot a specific part that I was supposed to write. Which, I eventually remembered the next day before actually getting started on it. This chapter is a bit shorter than the usual, but it's still an important one, sort of.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury.**

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 11:  
'Chasing Cats'********

 **The North, Winterfell**

When Bran had finally woken up some weeks ago, Robb was hoping to find out the truth of what happened.

Unfortunately, his brother claimed to have no memory of what happened.

Despite Robb pointing out that he had seen Bran climb a thousand times, even in the wind and the rain, and never fell once, Bran himself was convinced that he did fall.

The eldest Stark brother was unconvinced however.

With Bran surviving the fall from the tower, followed up by an attempt on his life by a catspaw assassin, it was very obvious that someone was trying to kill him.

Even so, despite what their mother said about the Lannister's possibly being the culprits, Robb did feel a little guilty for how he treated Tyrion Lannister when he had stopped by Winterfell on his journey back to King's Landing.

When the Dwarf provided Bran with plans for a special saddle that would allow the Stark boy to ride, even in his crippled state, Robb started to doubt his suspicion, maybe a little.

Or rather, he started to doubt that Tyrion had anything to do with the assassin and Bran's fall.

Maester Luwin made sure to apologise to the Dwarf for their treatment of him before he continued south, but Tyrion, as one would expect, simply claimed it wasn't necessary, stating that his family are difficult people to trust.

The more he thought about the brief conversations with Tyrion, the more the Maester was starting to believe that the Dwarf had played no part in the attempt on Bran's life. Despite being a Lannister, the chances that he was involved were understandably slim to none.

It was difficult to figure out, but the Imp just didn't seem like that type of person.

Sitting at a table outside, Bran and Maester Luwin were looking over a map of Westeros.

Bran wasn't paying attention however, too focused on watching Theon Greyjoy shoot arrows.

"Bran." Maester Luwin said, tapping a part of the map to get his attention.

The young Stark turned and looked at the map upon hearing his name, and said, "The Iron Islands. Sigil, a Kraken. Words, We Do Not Sow."

"Lords?" The Maester asked.

"The Greyjoys." Bran answered.

Theon turned and looked at the two, and said, "Famed for their skills at archery, navigation and lovemaking." He chuckled before turning back to continue shooting arrows.

"And failed rebellions." Maester Luwin added in quietly before tapping another part of the map.

Bran looked, and replied, "Sigil, a Stag. A crowned Stag, now that Robert's King."

"Good." The Maester praised.

The young Stark then added, "Words, Ours is the Fury. Lords, the Baratheons."

Maester Luwin nodded, tapping another part of the map.

Bran looked again, and said, "The Westerlands. Sigil, a Lion. Words, a Lannister always pays his debts."

"No. A common saying, but not their official motto." Maester Luwin replied.

Rather than correct his mistake, Bran continued on. "Lords, the Lannister's."

The Maester wasn't about to let him sneak by the mistake however, and reminded him, "We're still on their words."

"I don't know them." Bran replied.

"You do know them. Think." The Maester insisted.

The young Stark didn't give his response much thought however. "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken."

"That's House Martell." Maester Luwin corrected him.

Showing little interest, Bran just said the words of another random House. "Righteous in Wrath."

"House Hornwood." The Maester corrected him again.

Bran sighed a little with his next response. "Family, Duty, Honour."

"Those are Tully words, your mother's." The Maester corrected him yet again before asking, "Are we playing a game?"

"Family, Duty, Honour. Is that the right order?" Bran asked.

Maester Luwin was quick to respond. "You know it is."

The young Stark then asked, "Family comes first?"

Knowing where the young boy's mood was coming from, Maester Luwin replied, "Your mother had to leave Winterfell to protect the family."

"How can she protect the family, if she's not with her family?" Bran asked.

The Maester stared at him for a moment, before adding, "Your mother sat by your bed for three weeks while you slept."

"And then she left!" Was Bran's response.

Despite the boys refusal to listen, the Maester continued to try and reassure him.

"When you were born, I was the one who pulled you from your mother." Maester Luwin said. "I placed you in her arms. From that moment until the moment she dies, she will love you. Absolutely. Fiercely."

The young Stark then asked, "Why did she leave?"

Hesitating for a moment, the Maester then answered, "I still can't tell you, but she will be home soon."

Bran then asked him another question. "Do you know where she is now? Today?"

"No, I don't." Maester Luwin replied.

"Then how can you promise me she'll be home soon?" Bran asked.

Unsure of how to respond, the Maester simply shrugged and said, "Sometimes I worry you're too smart for your own good."

Silence followed for a moment as Bran watched Theon continue to practice his archery.

The young Stark then said, "I'll never shoot another arrow."

Maester Luwin, who was also watching the Greyjoy, looked back at Bran, asking him, "And where is that written?"

Bran kept his eyes on the archer, and replied. "You need legs to work a bow."

"Hmm...If the saddle Lord Tyrion designed actually works, you could learn to shoot a bow from horseback." The Maester said.

"Really?" Bran asked, looking hopeful now.

The Maester nodded, and said, "Dothraki boys learn when they're four years old. Why shouldn't you?"

For the first time since he had woken up, Bran smiled.

* * *

 **King's Landing**

When he received a visit from Varys, Ned Stark learned something new in his investigation.

That Jon Arryn was murdered, with a poison called the Tears of Lys.

When asked who could have given it to the former Hand of the King, Varys implicated the now dead Ser Hugh of the Vale, but had no answer as to who could have ordered the former squire to carry out the killing.

Upon asking Varys why anyone would want to kill a peaceful man like Jon Arryn, the Spider simply told Ned that the former Hand started asking questions.

Not long after the conversation, Ned received more troubling news from his eldest daughter.

"Arya is missing." Jocelyn told him.

Ned was surprised, and asked, "What do you mean she's missing? Where did you last see her?"

"I saw her chasing a cat not that long ago. But I haven't seen her since." His eldest daughter explained.

The Hand already had enough on his mind to deal with, and this only stressed him out even more than he already was.

Knowing he couldn't leave it though, Ned wasted no time having Jory gather half of his guard and sending them out to search for his youngest daughter.

Jocelyn decided to assist in searching for her as well, and figured asking around may help a little.

* * *

The eldest Stark daughter was careful about who she spoke to when asking about the whereabouts of Arya.

She asked Sansa first, but her younger sister didn't know, or just didn't seem to care, clearly thinking too much about Joffrey to even acknowledge Arya's existence.

Jocelyn then asked Renly, but King Robert's younger brother had no idea where Arya was either.

Raymond Lannister was one person who came to mind that she thought about asking, but Jocelyn quickly discovered that the Lannister son had left King's Landing to return to Casterly Rock not long ago.

Growing concerned for her sister, the Stark daughter resorted to asking Littlefinger and Varys, but unfortunately, neither man had any knowledge on her sister's whereabouts either.

Her search was eventually stopped when she stumbled upon Prince Derek and Ser Barristan Selmy.

"Lady Jocelyn!" The young black-haired Prince said, offering her a friendly smile.

The eldest Stark daughter smiled a little in response, and replied, "Prince Derek."

"You looked like you were in a hurry there. Is something wrong?" Derek asked.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes, wondering how the boy was so good at noticing these things despite her subtlety. "I'm looking for Arya, we can't seem to find her anywhere."

Derek recoiled a little, looking surprised. "She's missing?"

"You could say that. The last time I saw her, she was chasing a cat." Jocelyn said.

The Prince just looked at her, confused for a moment before he understood what she meant, and then chuckled a little. "Oh, that's right. Syrio, he's having her do that. Well, did you ask him if he'd seen Arya?"

Jocelyn hesitated in her response, mentally kicking herself for not considering asking the Braavosi earlier. "No, I didn't."

"If anyone will know where she is, it has to be him, since he is the one having her running around chasing cats." Derek said, still smiling.

The eldest Stark daughter looked unsure for a moment, but eventually agreed. "I suppose you have a point."

"Also, I was hoping we could talk for a moment, if you don't mind that is." The Prince replied, starting to look a little nervous now.

Jocelyn looked down at him, a little confused by the sudden change in his behaviour, before nodding. "Of course."

Ser Barristan followed right behind the two as they walked, looking a little amused by the Prince's behaviour.

"So..." Derek started, taking a moment to find the right words he wanted to use. "Sansa is going to marry my brother."

Jocelyn nodded. "She is."

"Which means, she will be Queen one day." Derek added.

Again, Jocelyn nodded. "She will."

The Prince went silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

A cough from Ser Barristan prompted the Prince to look over his shoulder a little at the Kingsguard, who gestured for him to continue.

Taking a deep breath, Derek stopped and decided to get right to the point. "I...have something for you."

Jocelyn stopped and turned to face him. "For me?"

Derek nodded and turned to Ser Barristan, who handed him something.

When he turned back, Derek approached Jocelyn and held out his hands. "I really thought long and hard about something I could give you as thanks for saving my life, but, I wasn't sure what kind of gift would be appropriate."

Jocelyn looked down at the Prince's hands and examined the object he was holding.

"I eventually gave up and asked Ser Barristan for some help. Joffrey has one just like it, except his is a lion, and I know the Stark's and the Lannister's aren't exactly friendly with each other." Derek said.

In his hands was an oval-shaped golden pendant.

The most notable feature was the black Stag design that was in the centre of the pendant, very much the same as the Stag seen on the Baratheon banners.

"It's, um, real gold, in case you're wondering." Derek said, looking and sounding a little nervous.

Jocelyn looked a little surprised, mainly that the Prince was actually offering her such an expensive gift.

Her hesitation and silence eventually made Derek concerned, prompting him to ask, "Y-You...don't like it, do you?"

The eldest Stark daughter, hearing his worried tone, quickly replied, "Of course I do! I-I was...I was just surprised is all."

A sigh of relief escaped the young Prince.

Jocelyn then said, "But, you didn't have to go through the trouble of finding a gift. It wasn't necessary, my Prince. Really, I was just happy to help."

It was clear in her response that the eldest Stark daughter had no desire to take the Baratheon pendant from him.

Derek, however, was determined to make sure she accepted the gift, and insisted. "Please accept it. This isn't nearly enough to pay you back, but, I'd like to think it's a decent start."

"I..." Jocelyn started, but stopped and looked into the Prince's pleading eyes.

"Please, accept it." Derek said again.

Not wanting to hurt his feelings more than she already had, Jocelyn finally relented, and nodded with a smile. "Very well, I'll accept your gift."

The Prince smiled again, but before he could respond, Jocelyn stopped him, and added, "On one condition though."

"What is it?" Derek asked, looking a little confused.

The eldest Stark daughter then replied, "Please don't trouble yourself in trying to think of any more suitable gifts. If you feel the need to express gratitude, a simple thank you is more than enough."

Derek looked unsure, but nonetheless agreed to her condition. "Ok. Agreed."

Looking down at the Baratheon pendant in his hands for a moment, Derek then looked back up at the eldest Stark daughter and held out his hands.

Jocelyn slowly took the pendant, looking at it for a moment before placing it around her neck.

The Prince smiled, and said, "It looks good on you."

The Stark daughter smiled in response.

Before she could say anything however, they were approached by a couple of Stark guards. "Lady Jocelyn, your sister's been found."

"Really? Where!" She asked almost immediately.

The other guard then said, "She's been taken to your father."

In a hurry, Jocelyn turned and bowed her head to the Prince. "Forgive me, my Prince, but I must go now."

Derek nodded with a shrug. "That's ok. Maybe we can speak later then."

The eldest Stark daughter just nodded in response, before turning and following her fathers guards back to his chamber.

As soon as she was gone, Derek turned and asked Ser Barristan, "How did I do?"

The Kingsguard was a bit hesitant in his response.

Eventually, he said, "Acceptable. Not how we planned it, but, acceptable."

* * *

It didn't take long for her to make it back to the Hand's chamber.

When Jocelyn did make it, she arrived just in time to hear her father scolding her youngest sister.

"You know I had half my guard out searching for you? You promised me this would stop." Ned said, sounding more stressed than upset.

Jocelyn entered silently as Arya replied, "They said they were going to kill you."

The words alarmed the eldest Stark daughter, prompting her to ask, "Who did?"

Arya looked up at her sister, and said, "I didn't see them, but I think one was fat."

"Oh Arya." Ned sighed,

"I'm not lying!" Arya said, adding, "They said you found the bastard, and the wolves are fighting the lions, and the savage. Something about the savage."

Her words then caught Ned and Jocelyn's attention, the latter's in particular when her sister mentioned the 'bastard'.

"Where did you hear this?" Jocelyn asked.

Arya looked at her sister again and answered, "In the dungeons, near the dragon skulls."

The eldest Stark daughter then rolled her eyes, smirking a little as she replied, "Let me guess, because you were chasing a cat?"

Her sister's response earned a little smile from Arya.

Before another word could be said, there was a knock on the door.

"Pardon, my Lord." Jory said as he entered, adding, "There's a Night's Watchman here begging a word. He says it's urgent."

Ned got up from his seat and made his way to the front of his desk as Jory gestured for the Night's Watchman to enter.

"Your name, friend?" Ned asked as he stood next to Arya and Jocelyn, placing an arm around the former.

"Yoren, if it please." The Night's Watchman replied before looking down at Arya, adding, "This must be your son. He has the look."

Jocelyn almost giggled at the man's words, while Arya replied, "I'm a girl!"

Ned then asked, "Did Benjen send you?"

Yoren shook his head, replying, "No one sent me, my Lord. I'm here to find men for The Wall, see if there's any scum in the dungeon that might be fit for service."

"Ah, we'll find recruits for you." Ned said.

"Thank you, my Lord, but that's not why I disturb you now." Yoren replied, adding, "Your brother, Benjen, his blood runs black, makes him as much my brother as yours. It's for his sake I rode here so hard I damn near killed my horse. There are others riding too. The whole city will know by tomorrow."

The Starks looked confused now, with Ned asking, "Know what?"

Yoren stepped aside, and said, "Best said in private, my Lord."

Ned was silent for a moment, before leaning down and kissing Arya's head, telling her, "Go on. We'll talk more later." He turned to Jory, adding, "Jory, take her safely to her room."

Jory nodded, taking Arya's hand as he escorted her out of the room. "Come along, my Lady. You heard your father."

Yoren looked over at Jocelyn, who was staring calmly and curiously at him.

"Don't worry, you can trust Jocelyn, Yoren." Ned said.

The Night's Watchman nodded before closing the door.

As Jory escorted Arya to her room, the Stark daughter asked, "How many guards does my father have?"

"Here in King's Landing? Fifty." Jory replied.

Arya then asked, "You wouldn't let anyone kill him, would you?"

Jory smiled, and assured her, "No fear on that count, little Lady."

With the two gone, Ned then asked the Night's Watchman, "Well?"

"It's about your wife, my Lord." Yoren said.

Upon hearing those words, Ned and Jocelyn braced themselves with worry, unable to mask the shocked looks on their faces when the Night's Watchman told them...

"She's taken the Imp."

* * *

 **Authors Notes: And we all know what series of events are set in motion because of that don't we? I'm not gonna waste too much word space with the authors notes here this time, so I'll just say that the next Chapter will finally take us to the Vale and things will finally start getting serious for everyone, or nearly everyone, depending of course on the circumstances and which characters are where etc.  
**

 **Anyway, as usual,** **feel free to leave a Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	12. The Falcons of the Eyrie

**Apologies for the longer than usual wait, but once again a few unexpected things came up and prevented me from getting any writing done for quite a while. When I eventually got back to this chapter I struggled to get into the writing mood for a while which made it difficult for me to want to finish it. Also I've been trying to focus on making progress with some of my other stories as well since I've left them unfinished for a quite a while.**

 **I'm going to end up being far more busy now unfortunately thanks to work pulling me away from my free time, but I'll still try and get as much done whenever I can.**

 **That said, with Season 8 literally just weeks away, perhaps I can try and push myself to finish at least Season 1 in this story before the show returns, but that's probably not gonna happen. I will try and make the attempt however. No promises, but I'll try my best.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury, Alyssa Arryn belongs to Keeper Flame,** **Alexis Dayne belongs to Jason Kreuger Myers.**

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 12:  
'The Falcons of the Eyrie'********

 **King's Landing**

The news that his wife had abducted Tyrion Lannister had troubled Ned Stark to no end.

And when King Robert called him to a Small Council meeting demanding the deaths of Daenerys Targaryen and her unborn child, the Hand of the King had finally reached his breaking point.

No matter how much the King insisted, and despite the other council members agreeing that the Targaryen's should be killed, Ned continued to refuse.

The Hand then told his friend, "I followed you into war, twice, without doubts, without second thoughts. But I will not follow you now. The Robert I grew up with, didn't tremble at the shadow of an unborn child."

The King, however, was determined to see the deed done, and simply said, "She dies."

"I will have no part in it." Ned refused, standing by his decision.

Robert then left him with a choice. "You're the King's Hand, Lord Stark. You'll do as I command or I'll find me a Hand who will."

It was a conflicting choice for a brief moment, but Ned didn't hesitate in making his decision.

He removed his badge and placed it on the table in front of the King.

"And good luck to him. I thought you were a better man." Ned said with a hint of disappointment in his tone.

Robert rose from his seat almost immediately, looking very furious at his friend. "Out. Out, damn you! I'm done with you!"

As Ned turned and walked away, Robert continued to shout at him. "Go! Run back to Winterfell! I'll have your head on a spike! I'll put it there myself, you fool!"

When he exited into the throne room, Ned found himself passing by Prince Derek, who was apparently eavesdropping on the conversation, or argument to be more precise given the continued shouting of the Prince's father.

Exchanging looks, Ned could see the Prince was visibly upset. Whether it was due to hearing his father demanding the deaths of the Targaryens, the argument between the two friends or just Ned resigning from his position as Hand under such circumstances, he couldn't tell.

He couldn't stop and think about it though and moved on.

When he returned to the Hand's chambers to pack his things, Littlefinger had stopped by and informed him about another lead.

"If you're still here come nightfall, I'll take you to see the last person Jon Arryn spoke with before falling ill. If that sort of thing still interests you." The Master of Coin told the now former Hand of the King.

"I don't have the time." Ned replied almost immediately.

Littlefinger didn't seem to mind however, "It won't take more than an hour, but as you please." He said before leaving the room.

Ned took a moment to think on it, and ended up changing his mind. He grabbed his sword and turned to Jory, and said, "Round up all the men we have and station them outside the girls' chambers." The former Hand then asked, "Who are your best two swords?"

"Heward and Wyl." Jory answered.

"Find them, and meet me at the stables." Ned replied before following the Master of Coin, while Jory set out to gather all of their men.

Ned doubted that any harm would come to his daughters, especially by Robert, but he couldn't afford to take any chances.

Especially when it came to the Lannister's.

* * *

 **The Eyrie**

All Tyrion wanted was to piss off the edge of The Wall.

Then, on his way back, it was just a simple night at Winterfell after giving the Stark boy the plans for the special saddle that would let him ride.

When he continued his journey back to King's Landing with Yoren, he eventually stopped by the Crossroads Inn, where he found Catelyn Stark.

And ended up getting captured by her and several knights.

Following that, they were ambushed by warriors of the hill tribes on their way to The Vale, which, thankfully, they all emerged unharmed save for a few knights who died fighting them off.

And now here he stood, in the audience chamber of The Eyrie as Catelyn's sister, Lysa Arryn, berated her for bringing him there.

Of course, Tyrion was a little too distracted by the sight of Lysa breastfeeding her son Robin, something that Catelyn was just as surprised at given his age.

The two of them weren't the only ones who where feeling somewhat disturbed by this however.

Standing next to the weirwood throne that Lysa and Robin were seated on was Lysa and Jon Arryn's firstborn and only daughter, Alyssa Arryn.

At first glance, she looked like Sansa, a tall and slim figure, young and pretty, the only difference being her hair colour. She wore a light blue dress similar to the one her mother was wearing, except hers looked more colourful, tidy and kempt, clearly indicating she hadn't lost her habit for being very organised.

But the more Catelyn looked at her, the more she started to see the resemblance between the Arryn daughter and her mother, like her blue eyes, which was a very common trait among those of House Tully.

The Arryn daughter definitely looked like she inherited her mothers looks, but she was far more beautiful than her mother was in her youth.

She had long and tidy shoulder length brown hair, the colour of her hair being the only thing she inherited from her father, rather than the auburn hair of her mother.

Catelyn hadn't seen her niece in quite some time, and she recalled the last time she saw her, she was more open, talkative and smiled more.

But seeing her here now, standing next to her mother and brother, she looked distant, quiet and there was no sign of the smile Catelyn was used to seeing from her niece.

Looking away, Catelyn turned her attention back towards her sister, who was too focused on her son to pay attention to them. "Lysa…" She said, finally getting her sister's attention once more. "You wrote me about the Lannister's, warning me t-"

"To stay away from them!" Lysa interrupted her. "Not to bring one here!"

Finally, Robin himself spoke up, and asked his mother, "Mommy? Is that the bad man?"

Lysa nodded, simply replying, "It is."

Robin smiled a little, looking amused, "He's little."

"He's Tyrion the Imp of House Lannister." Lysa replied, glaring daggers at the dwarf. "He killed your father. He murdered the Hand of the King!"

Hearing those words prompted the quiet Alyssa to glare at Tyrion also.

Tyrion however just stared back at them, unfazed by the accusation. "Oh? Did I kill him too? I've been a very busy man."

"You will watch your tongue!" Lysa replied, clearly not happy with the Imp's sarcastic tone. "These men are Knights of the Vale. Every one of them loved Jon Arryn. Every one of them would die for me."

The dwarf wasn't willing to back down however, and replied, "If any harm comes to me, my brothers Jaime and Raymond will see that they do."

Robin then got to his feet and shouted at the Imp. "You can't hurt us! No one can hurt us here! Tell him, mommy! Tell him!"

Lysa gently shushed her son before slowly pulling him back into her arms. "Shh, my sweet boy. He's just trying to frighten us. Lannister's are all liars. No one will hurt my baby."

The Arryn boy then replied, "Mommy, I want to see the bad man fly."

"Perhaps you will, my little love." Lysa gently replied, clearly entertaining the idea of sending Tyrion out through the Moon Door.

Knowing this, and given the dwarf saved her when they were ambushed, Catelyn felt obligated to prevent his execution, at least for now. "This man is my prisoner. I will not have him harmed."

Lysa didn't look pleased with her sister's response, but decided to let Tyrion live for the time being. "Ser Vardis, my sister's guest is weary. Take him down below so he can rest. Introduce him to Mord."

The mention of the turnkey almost made Alyssa feel sorry for the Imp as he was taken away.

* * *

While her mother was busy continuing to dote on Robin, Alyssa decided to drag her aunt aside so they could speak in private.

Given the recently strained relationship she had with her mother following her father's death, whereas her relationship with her aunt was always cordial, it was no surprise to Catelyn that Alyssa pulled her aside to talk rather than her own mother.

"Alyssa, it's so good to see you again." Catelyn smiled as she hugged her niece.

The Arryn daughter returned the hug, though she refrained from smiling much. "And you, Aunt Catelyn."

"Your seventeenth name day is coming up soon isn't it?" Catelyn asked.

Alyssa nodded slightly, before sighing. "I just wish father was here for it."

Her aunt hugged her again, replying, "I'm so sorry for your loss. If there's anything I can do, you just let me know."

She almost entertained the thought of asking for a favour, but decided against it and simply replied, "That's generous aunt Catelyn, but don't worry, I'll be fine."

Catelyn looked to where her sister was and quietly asked, "About your brother..."

"I know." Alyssa replied almost instantly with a roll of her eyes. "Trust me, I've tried countless times to get him away from mother. Sometimes I could, sometimes I couldn't. The times I could, mother would always demand that I make sure to breastfeed him myself whenever he was hungry."

Her aunt looked visibly disturbed, and Alyssa couldn't blame her. "That's absurd! Did you have to?"

Alyssa was the one who looked visibly disturbed now, before replying, "...No. I always made sure he was given healthy food, and we always played together so he could get the exercise, so it's not as if he isn't fit. And sometimes, I think I've made progress when I tell him he doesn't need mother all the time and he believes me."

With a sigh, she looked in her mother's direction, adding, "But, of course, despite all of that, mother continues to be overprotective of him. It feels like I'm constantly fighting with her on how to raise him."

"I'm sure you're doing your best." Catelyn replied with a gentle smile.

Alyssa managed a tiny smile at her aunts words, before proceeding to ask, "Anyway, about the Imp..."

Catelyn's smile was gone at the mention of Tyrion, but she stayed quiet and let her niece ask her question.

"He seems to be convinced he had no part in my father's death, that he wasn't responsible. Do you believe him?" Alyssa asked.

Her aunt thought about her answer for a moment, before replying, "The Lannister's have a reputation for being liars and keeping secrets. Even if he wasn't directly responsible, I'm sure he played a part in your father's death, just as he did with the attempt on Bran's life."

Alyssa recoiled, looking surprised now. "Bran?"

Catelyn nodded. "Bran was pushed from one of the towers in Winterfell during the King's visit. A while after, a catspaw made an attempt on his life while he was still comatose. Maester Luwin said he would live, but... but he will never walk again."

The Arryn daughter looked visibly angered, and, while attempting to remain calm, asked, "And you're saying the Lannister's were responsible for it?"

"I investigated myself. Given what I found and the information I received, everything pointed to the Lannister's, it could only have been them." Catelyn explained.

The explanation made Alyssa want to scream, but she managed to keep her composure and instead clenched her fists as she supressed her anger. "I see..." She turned and started to walk away.

Catelyn, confused, asked her, "Where are you going?"

"To see the Imp." Alyssa replied. "I want to hear it from himself."

* * *

Tyrion had heard about the sky cells of the Eyrie.

He'd read about how Ser Arnold Arryn rose twice against his cousin, Lady Jeyne Arryn, only to be imprisoned in the sky cells after the second rebellion failed.

And apparently, all of the time spent in the sky cell had driven Ser Arnold mad.

It was an extremely impressive intimidation tactic, and Tyrion couldn't deny it was, somewhat working on him.

He had faith that he would be able to get out of his situation eventually though.

As a Lannister of Casterly Rock, his captors knew they couldn't afford to kill him, lest they wanted to risk conflict with House Lannister.

The Imp made a promise to himself that if he managed to make it out of this and back to King's Landing, he would not stop drinking until winter had come. Then again, he'd probably keep drinking anyway, even after winter goes by.

He mentally slapped himself.

Just thinking about wine made him thirsty for it, and it annoyed him. He wanted wine, and he wanted it now.

It was only after thinking about wine that he realised, the intimidation of the sky cell wasn't going to drive him mad.

Far from it. The lack of wine was already driving him mad, he was actually starting to wonder if he'd already gone mad just thinking about it.

The dwarf was so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the door to his cell open.

When he finally did start paying attention, he looked over and saw Alyssa enter his cell, holding a large mug.

"Lady Alyssa." The dwarf said.

The Arryn daughter just stared at him with a stony expression. "Lord Tyrion."

"Last time I saw you was at King's Landing." Tyrion replied, looking her up and down. "You look alluring as always."

Alyssa narrowed her gaze at his compliment, seemingly unhappy that he doesn't seem to be taking his situation far more seriously. "About my father..."

Tyrion locked eyes with her almost immediately as soon as she brought the topic up. "Believe me when I say, I am very, very sorry for your loss. Jon Arryn was a good man. I heard nothing but good things about him."

The sincerity of his tone caught Alyssa off guard for a moment.

Still, she felt the need to ask, she had to know. Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eye, and asked him, "Did you do it?"

Had the conversation with Lysa not still been fresh in his mind, Tyrion would have almost forgotten what the Arryn daughter was talking about.

"Did you kill my father? Were you involved in his death?" Alyssa asked again.

Tyrion mustered up a brave face and answered as sincerely as he could. "No. I had nothing to do with your fathers death. I swear it."

His tone was convincing, and it made Alyssa start to doubt if he was responsible or not. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" She asked.

"The more important question is, what would I have to gain from killing your father?" Tyrion responded.

Alyssa already had an answer however. "To ensure your father, Tywin Lannister, took his place as the new Hand of the King."

"Hm, an interesting theory." Tyrion replied with an amused stare.

She wasn't finished yet, and added, "When King Robert rode for Winterfell to appoint my uncle in law, Ned Stark, as the new Hand of the King, you orchestrated Bran's fall, crippling him. In order to finish the job, you hired someone to try and kill him while he was still comatose. You did all this in hopes that my uncle would refuse the King's offer and remain at Winterfell, leaving the position of Hand of the King open to your father."

Tyrion nodded, his mouth twisting into an amused smile. "A very convincing story."

Alyssa tilted her head a little, waiting for him to deny it, to refute her statement, to just come up with an excuse in an attempt to prove her wrong.

He said nothing however.

And when it was clear that he had no intention of saying anything, Alyssa then asked him, "Aren't you going to deny it? Not even an excuse?"

Still smiling, Tyrion replied, "I don't think I have to my lady."

When it was clear to him that Alyssa was confused by his response, he added, "After all, you know how much my father hates me. Why in seven hells would I even think of trying to make him Hand of the King?"

Alyssa thought about his response for a moment.

The more she did, the more it made sense.

It was no secret that Tywin hated Tyrion, and if there was a conspiracy to make him the new Hand of the King, Tyrion would be the very last person who would have wanted a hand in it.

He was telling the truth. He had to be.

Sighing in defeat, Alyssa approached Tyrion, kneeling down to his height before handing him the mug she was holding.

"What's this?" Tyrion asked.

Alyssa offered the tiniest smile she could manage, replying, "I know how much you like to drink. I assumed you might go mad if you didn't have something to keep you sane."

"You assumed right my lady." Tyrion replied almost instantly, taking the mug from her before looking inside. "...It's...not poisoned, is it?"

His comment earned an offended frown from the Arryn daughter.

Tyrion nodded, quickly apologising, "Of course, of course, you're right, I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"Apology accepted." She said before standing back to her full height. "If you'll excuse me, I must leave now."

As the Arryn daughter made her way to the cell door, Tyrion asked, "What's going to happen to me?"

Alyssa looked back over at the dwarf, uncertain as she replied, "I don't know yet. But, I will try and convince my mother and aunt Catelyn to be lenient with you."

Tyrion mustered up a teasing smirk and asked, "What about letting me go?"

"Don't push your luck, Lord Tyrion." Alyssa replied, smirking a little herself before taking her leave.

Once she was gone and the cell door was locked, Tyrion sat himself down and looked at the mug of wine in his hands.

After admiring it for a moment, he took a sip, then chuckled.

"I missed this."

* * *

 **King's Landing**

So much happened so quick that it was just too much for Derek to take in.

The words of his father when Ned walked away continued to haunt his mind, and it worried him to no end that the friendship between Ned and his father was no more.

He was thinking too much, and he needed something to distract himself from the worrying thoughts.

Watching the Sword of the Morning practice with some of her own household guard was one way to distract himself, as he never got tired of watching the woman's flawless swordplay.

During the session, Alexis did offer the Prince to join in, but he politely refused, content to just watch, he knew that disarming the Sword of the Morning was a dream that would never come true for any man, let alone him.

He did make sure to count the number of times the Lady of Starfall disarmed her men, though that didn't last long, as he lost count after forty.

Once more, he found himself thinking back to the heated exchange between Ned Stark and his father.

Derek frowned a little and slapped his head lightly, hoping that by some miracle, the action would have knocked the troubling thoughts from his memory.

"People will think you've gone mad if you do that."

The voice of the Sword of the Morning caught Derek's attention, seeing her standing just a few feet away, looking at him with concern while her household guard were leaving, clearly glad that their torture session was now over.

"Something's bothering you." Alexis said.

Derek sighed, "That obvious huh?"

The Lady of Starfall chuckled a little, seating herself down next to him before replying, "You could say that. I've seen my brother act that way many times, and when he does, something is always bothering him. All boys your age are like that in fact."

"Not all boys." Derek replied.

Alexis smirked now. "You'd be surprised, trust me." She went silent for a moment, before asking him, "So, care to tell me what's troubling you?"

Just as Derek turned to respond, another voice interrupted him.

"Prince Derek!"

The young Stag looked over and saw Jocelyn approaching. "Lady Jocelyn?"

Alexis rose to her feet, curious when she noticed the eldest Stark daughter's troubled look.

"Have you seen my father anywhere? I can't find him." Jocelyn asked, trying to mask her worry.

Derek flinched slightly in response to her question, and he did his best to hide the worried look on his face.

But despite his subtlety in trying to hide his worry, Jocelyn easily noticed, and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

With both of their eyes on him, Derek realised he had to explain what happened eventually.

That didn't make him any less nervous.

Since Ned was no longer the Hand of the King, that meant he would be leaving King's Landing to go back to Winterfell.

Which also meant that Jocelyn, Sansa and Arya would be leaving too.

And he didn't want them to leave.

Despite having his family and relatives to talk to, Derek never really had anyone close to his age to talk to or play with, or spar with in Arya's case. Sure there was Tommen and Myrcella, but most of the time they were with their mother.

The presence of the Starks had made life much more enjoyable for him in King's Landing, and now that they could potentially be leaving, it made his heart ache.

He didn't want them to leave.

But he couldn't stop them either. It would be wrong if he tried to.

It was probably for the best if he explained sooner rather than later, lest he wanted to risk the Stark daughters' ire for not telling them sooner.

Taking a deep breath, Derek said, "I was in the throne room when a small council meeting was-"

"Lady Jocelyn!"

A few men from Ned's household guard interrupted the Prince before he could explain, sprinting towards the three and looking very much in a hurry.

Jocelyn turned to her fathers guards, caught off guard by their unexpected interruption and looking confused as to why they were in such a rush.

"What's wrong?" The eldest Stark daughter asked.

One of the Stark guards tried to respond, but failed, too busy trying to catch his breath.

Another spoke for him instead, and replied, "It's your father!"

Jocelyn froze, her calm expression on the verge of shattering, whereas Derek and Alexis looked very concerned, and didn't even attempt to hide it.

It took all of Jocelyn's willpower to keep it up even after the Stark guard delivered the news.

"Your father...he was attacked by the Lannister's!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Finally got that done. This chapter ended up being a little bit longer than I originally intended, but whatever, progress is progress, I'm not gonna complain. Now things should finally start to get interesting. I do apologise if things seem like they're dragging on, but I'm simply trying to make sure that every character gets their share of the spotlight.**

 **Now that I'm approaching this stage of the story, things are going to start getting difficult for some characters, decisions will have to be made that will determine theirs or someone else's fate.**

 **Anyway, as usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


	13. The Quiet Wolf

**Ok, where to begin. Now, I'd be lying if I said Season 8 of Game of Thrones didn't have something to do with the massive delay for this chapter. To put it simply, Season 8 sort of just killed my motivation to keep writing this.  
**

 **I'm not about to go into specifics because I know there are people who still liked it, and there are people who didn't like it. The best way I can sum it up, is that there are quite a good many things Season 8 did that I really didn't like, directions I didn't agree with. There are things I did like though, things I did agree with, not as much as the negatives in my opinion but whatever. Long story short, Season 8 went downhill in my opinion, there were still some good things, but it was still downhill, that's the best way I can put it without sounding like one of those negative people up in arms about it. I feel Season 8 was just rushed, completely rushed, as if they were in a hurry to just get it finished and done with, and, well, we've seen the results of that.**

 **Honestly, I feel they should've stuck fully to the books. Because I believe that if they had, they'd probably still only be on A Feast for Crows or A Dance with Dragons with the amount of things they could have used sticking to the books down to every word. In turn, this meant that there would have been more Seasons for the show, and more time for GRRM to finish The Winds of Winter which, if what the guy said recently is true, could be out next year, which then would have provided the show the next book to work off of. Again, assuming that what he said is true, given his track record.**

 **Which also means, they wouldn't have had to divert from the books as much. Anyway, can't afford to waste word space so I'll finish up these notes by pointing out that this doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing this story. I'm going to keep writing this story, at least until I finish Season 1, after which I'm going to take a break from it so I can finish up other stories I've left on hiatus.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury, Alexis Dayne belongs to Jason Kreuger Myers,** **Lewyn Sand belongs to MineyMo.**

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 13:  
'The Quiet Wolf'********

 **King's Landing**

When they had heard about the incident in the streets of King's Landing, Jocelyn, Derek and Alexis wasted little time making their way to where Ned was currently recovering.

The eldest Stark daughter had done a good job at masking her worry, but it was still clear enough that the other two could notice.

Derek wanted to assure her that everything would be fine, but he was too busy trying to assure himself first, and he knew that he'd be lying if he said so. There was no telling what kind of mess was going to follow after the incident in the streets, all he did know though, was that people were going to get hurt soon.

By the time they arrived at the chambers where Ned was recovering, they had arrived just in time to see King Robert himself leaving the room.

"Is Lord Stark okay, father?" Derek asked.

Robert looked his son in the eye and nodded, "He's fine..." He turned to Jocelyn, trying to muster up half a smile as he added, "He's a tough old bastard, he'll be fine lass, don't worry."

For a moment, the King stared at Jocelyn for a few long seconds, before gesturing towards the door, "Go on in."

Jocelyn bowed her head, "T-Thank you, your grace." She said before making her way into the room.

When the Stark daughter closed the door behind her, Robert turned back to his son, and said, "I'm going out on a hunt Derek, keep an eye on your mother for me."

"Mother?" Derek asked, looking a little confused now.

A subtle look of guilt could be made out on Robert's face as he slowly replied, "I...I hit her. I want you by her side, make sure she's okay. Ok?"

Derek recoiled, surprised that his father would have hit his mother.

It was true that they never really seemed to love each other as much as a husband and wife should, and their marriage was always a troubled one, but never once did father strike his mother.

This was the very first time.

It wouldn't surprise him if it was due to an argument that involved his mother trying to defend his Uncle Jaime, whom he had heard was the one who led the assault on Ned and his men.

Even so, Derek wasn't going to refuse such a simple request from the King, and nodded, "S-Sure. I'll do my best."

Robert managed a more genuine smile this time, ruffling his sons hair as he replied, "I know you will." He said before casting a glance over at the Sword of the Morning before taking his leave.

Once he was gone, Derek exchanged looks with Alexis before making his way into the room, followed by the latter.

Seeing Ned Stark on the bed with his leg bandaged up and his teary-eyed eldest daughter by his side was a little difficult for Derek to take in.

More so for Alexis, as she was used to seeing the man on his own two feet, standing tall and strong, never showing any signs of weakness.

Just seeing the man who defeated her Uncle, Ser Arthur Dayne, years ago, so weak and helpless right now due to a cowardly attack, made her blood boil.

What made it all the more infuriating, was that Jaime Lannister was said to be the one who led the attack on Ned and his men. Alexis held the Kingslayer in very high regard, so hearing that he was the one who launched the cowardly attack, it just didn't seem like something he would do.

Rather than dwell on it however, she decided to get answers straight from Ned himself. Being an honest man, she doubted that he would lie to her.

The Sword of the Morning then proceeded to ask, "Lord Stark, forgive me but I must know, was Jaime Lannister really the one who attacked and killed your men?"

Ned simply nodded his head, before replying, "He was the one who killed Jory."

Despite doing her best to keep calm, a mixed look of anger and sorrow could be made out on Jocelyn's face.

It was pretty clear that the tears she was shedding weren't just for her father, but for Jory too.

He had often practiced swordplay with her from time to time, and had personally escorted her during visits to Last Hearth, Karhold, White Harbor and various other Northern holds whenever she wanted to get out of Winterfell.

To find out that someone whom she considered a dear friend, to the family and to herself, was now dead, murdered at the hands of someone whom she considered a good man, it just broke Jocelyn's heart.

It made her just as angry, however she did her best to suppress that anger, knowing that she couldn't dwell on it right now, not with her father hurt.

While the eldest Stark daughter continued to mask her emotions, Alexis was the one who looked more visibly upset.

Mostly because she couldn't believe that Jaime Lannister would act so cowardly.

Also dwelling on his Uncle's actions for a moment, Derek's thought's then shifted to something else when he noticed that Ned had the Hand's brooch on him, and very quickly realised that his father must have made him his Hand again.

Probably the only good thing that happened today, he figured.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Derek looked up and saw Alexis staring down at him, gesturing towards the Starks.

He looked over at the two, Jocelyn still trying to comfort her father, while the man himself was simply still trying to wake up, clear signs of exhaustion on his face.

Eventually though, Derek realised what Alexis meant, and the Prince turned to the Starks once more and said, "I'll let you have some privacy. Please recover soon, Lord Stark."

Once the reappointed Hand of the King had given him a nod in response, Derek took his leave, Alexis following right behind, but not before casting one last glance at the Quiet Wolf before closing the door behind her.

When the two were gone, Jocelyn waited for a moment, before asking her father, "What are you going to do?"

Ned wasn't sure.

One thing was certain though.

If he didn't do something, and soon, there would be a war.

* * *

 **Essos**

It took all of Lewyn's willpower to not look away and cringe as he watched Daenerys slowly eat the raw heart of a stallion.

While the Dosh khaleen continued to chant during the ritual, Viserys, who stood between both Lewyn and Ser Jorah, quietly spoke up, "She has to eat the whole heart?" He asked, before adding with a disturbed look, "I hope that wasn't my horse."

"She's doing well." Ser Jorah said with half a smile.

The elder Targaryen sibling didn't seem to share his confidence however. "She'll never keep it down."

When Daenerys took another bite of the raw heart, Lewyn could no longer continue to watch and turned away, starting to feel a little sick. "I can't look anymore."

"Feel free to step outside, Sand." Viserys said with a smirk.

Lewyn ignored the suggestion and simply remained where he was, but continued to look away while listening to the chants.

During the ritual, one of the Dosh khaleen started to read the omens out loud, prompting Viserys to ask, "Tell me what she's saying."

Ser Jorah translated for the elder Targaryen, replying, "The Prince is riding. I have heard the thunder of his hooves. Swift as the wind he rides. His enemies will cower before him. And their wives will weep tears of blood."

The Knight went silent for a moment as the chanting continued, before finally adding, "She's going to have a boy."

While Lewyn seemed glad to hear that, Viserys wasn't as happy, and said, "He won't be a real Targaryen. He won't be a true dragon."

Finally, Daenerys had eaten the remaining piece of the raw heart, prompting Ser Jorah to let Lewyn know he could look again.

As the young bastard looked back, everyone went silent when they saw Daenerys nearly fall over and vomit, forcing Lewyn to swiftly look away again. "You said it was over Ser Jorah!"

"It is. Look again." The Knight quietly replied.

Lewyn slowly, and reluctantly, looked back, and was relieved when he saw the younger Targaryen hadn't vomited the heart back out.

For a moment, Daenerys struggled to chew and finish the last piece of the heart.

A part of her wanted to give up and spit it out, but she managed to convince that part of her otherwise.

She knew all eyes were on her, as well as the eyes of Khal Drogo, and she had already come too far to just stop and give up now.

Slowly, she got back up, and looked her husband in the eye as she proceeded to swallow, and finally finish the heart, followed by a sigh of relief.

Her relief was shared by Khal Drogo, who smiled softly and nodded a little at her efforts.

One of the Dosh khaleen chanted once again, prompting Ser Jorah to translate for Viserys and Lewyn.

"The stallion who mounts the world. The stallion is the Khal of Khals. He shall unite the people into a single khalasar. All the people of the world will be his herd."

The chanting ceased when Daenerys rose to her feet. She then proceeded to speak in their language, and declared, "A Prince rides inside me! And he shall be named Rhaego!"

The Dothraki all chanted the name of Daenerys' unborn son, much to her joy and relief, she couldn't have picked a better name.

Khal Drogo looked the happiest and the proudest he could be, before rising to his feet to approach his wife.

Viserys didn't look too happy however. In fact, he looked more surprised at just how well loved his sister was by the Dothraki. "They love her." He said, sounding almost, jealous.

The chanting only grew louder as Khal Drogo gently wrapped his arms around his wife and lifted her up, seemingly happy to give her all the attention she could want.

"I'm happy for her." Lewyn said with a genuine smile. "Really I am."

Ser Jorah nodded, adding, "She truly is a queen today."

As they continued to watch, it took a moment for them to realise that Viserys was no longer next to them. He was gone.

Jorah and Lewyn looked around for the elder Targaryen, but he was simply nowhere to be seen.

Nervous that he was going to do something rash, they quickly set out to find him.

* * *

The two were right to track down the older Targaryen sibling.

When they found him, they caught him apparently trying to leave with the Dragon Eggs.

Viserys almost drew his sword upon hearing them enter the tent behind him, but stopped once he identified them.

"Don't let them see you carrying a sword in Vaes Dothrak." Ser Jorah told him. "You know the law."

The elder Targaryen resheathed his sword. "It's not my law." He said without a care, before proceeding to take the remaining eggs, stuffing them into a sack.

"They don't belong to you." Jorah said.

Again, Viserys replied without a care. "Whatever is hers is also mine."

"Once, perhaps." Jorah commented.

Behind him, Lewyn remained silent. Concerned that the knight was going to say something he might regret. After all, Viserys was the one with the sword right now, and the young bastard didn't doubt for a second that the elder Targaryen sibling would use it against those who spoke down to him.

Viserys finally looked at them, and said, "If I sell one egg, I'll have enough to buy a ship. Two eggs, a ship and an army."

"And you have all three." The knight pointed out.

The Targaryen quickly replied, "I need a large army."

Jorah nodded a little, understanding where he was coming from.

"I'm the last hope of a dynasty, Mormont." Viserys said, stepping forward as he reminded the knight of the family he belonged to. "The greatest dynasty this world has ever seen on my shoulders since I was five years old, and no one has ever given me what they gave to her in that tent. Never. Not a piece of it."

And so it finally came out.

If the elder Targaryen sibling's jealousy wasn't clear to them before, it certainly was now.

Again, Jorah nodded a little in understanding, yet remained where he stood.

"How can I carry what I need to carry without it? Hm? Who can rule without wealth or fear or love?" The Targaryen added, trying to make his point very clear.

The knight didn't respond, and merely continued to stare at the elder Targaryen sibling.

"Oh, you stand there, all nobility and honour." Viserys said, approaching the older man, stopping just a few mere inches away as he whispered, "You don't think I see you looking at my little sister, hm? Don't think I know what you want?"

Lewyn tensed up a little, starting to worry that a fight was going to break out any second now, and braced himself for the worst.

"I don't care. You can have her." Viserys quietly stated, making it very clear how he truly felt about his sister. "She can be Queen of the savages and dine on the finest bloody horse parts, and you can dine on whichever parts of her you like. But let me go."

The Targaryen's attempt to leave was stopped almost instantly by the knight, who refused to budge from his spot.

"You can go. You can't have the eggs." Ser Jorah said.

It was clear to both Jorah and Lewyn that the Targaryen was reaching his breaking point. And the whole time, Ser Jorah remained calm and composed, something the nervous Lewyn couldn't help but be jealous of, wishing he too could be as level-headed as the older man. Nonetheless, he prayed mentally that the elder Targaryen sibling didn't resort to looking to him for assistance.

"You swore an oath to me." Viserys reminded the knight. "Does loyalty mean nothing to you?"

Ser Jorah was quick to answer. "It means everything to me."

"And yet here you stand." The Targaryen added, his frustration visible all over his face.

As expected of him though, the knight responded calmly, as he had been the whole time. "And yet here I stand."

The Targaryen nodded, almost as if realising now where Jorah's loyalty lay.

And so, he turned his attention away from the knight, and glared in Lewyn's direction. "Sand!"

Lewyn tensed up, and slowly, only slightly, looked back at the elder Targaryen sibling.

"Remove Ser Jorah from my sight. Immediately." Viserys demanded.

Even if he wanted to follow through with such an order, the young bastard from Dorne knew full well that he would never be able to physically restrain the older man and remove him from the tent. The knight was bigger, stronger, and would simply kick his ass if Lewyn even so much as tried to go through with it.

No. He was already on friendly terms with the man from Bear Island, and he already declared his support and loyalty to Daenerys herself. As far as he was concerned, Viserys had no command over him anymore.

He just hoped his decision to stand by and do nothing wouldn't come back to bite him.

Seeing the young bastard from Dorne refusing to move and carry out his order had Viserys almost seething.

The Targaryen then glanced back at Jorah one last time, before dropping the sack containing the eggs.

In response, Ser Jorah slowly stepped aside, allowing Viserys to leave.

And he did.

He left the tent, giving Lewyn a quick and murderous glance as he walked past him.

Once Viserys was gone and out of earshot, Lewyn took in a deep breath, and made his worries known. "I fear he is going to do something reckless, Ser Jorah. Perhaps we should go after him."

The knight slowly shook his head, picking up the sack containing the eggs and returning them to the chest they were taken from. "It'll be fine."

"How do you know that? How do you know he won't-" Lewyn tried to debate the issue, but his response was stopped short when the older man turned and looked at him.

Despite the high possibility that Viserys may end up causing trouble, the knight maintained a calm and collected manner. After placing the eggs back in the chest, he closed it and turned to leave.

"What happens to Viserys, if he chooses to act out of anger, is not our concern anymore. Stay by the Khaleesi's side." The knight calmly told him as he walked past him, leaving the tent.

Deep in thought, Lewyn processed the response for a moment, seemingly confused, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

When he got no response, he turned and saw the knight was already a short distance away from the tent.

Lewyn quickly left the tent and ran to catch up with the older man and repeated his question.

"Ser Jorah! What do you mean by that?"

He never got an answer.

* * *

 **King's Landing**

"Denounced and attainted. Stripped of all ranks and titles, of all lands and holdings...and sentenced to death."

Alexis Dayne repeated the Hand of the King's statements to herself as she slowly paced back and forth with concern, all while Lord Beric Dondarrion and his men were busy saddling up their horses.

Once he was back on his feet, with the addition of a cane to support him, the reappointed Hand of the King quickly found himself back on duty, when he received word that a number of men had begun burning farms and homes in the Riverlands. The farmer then proceeded to inform the Hand, the Grand Maester and the Master of Coin present beside him, that the men had stolen nothing, but instead left behind a sack, that contained a large pile of fish.

The sigil of House Tully, Littlefinger pointed out.

When questioned about the identity of the men, the farmer described their leader as large, and capable of taking the head off of a horse with a single swing of his sword.

Ned Stark quickly deduced that the leader of these men was Gregor Clegane, which was backed up by Littlefinger, and it didn't take long for them to piece together the reason for these attacks. Likely retaliation for the abduction of Tyrion Lannister, by Catelyn Stark herself.

Given House Tully was her House, it only made sense.

In response, the Hand of the King stripped Gregor of all ranks, titles, lands and holdings, before commanding Beric Dondarrion to assemble one hundred men and ride out to Gregor's keep to execute the Mad Dog and his men for the crimes they had committed.

To the surprise of many, Ned then proceeded to issue an order to Tywin Lannister himself, demanding that the Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West present himself in the capital to answer for the crimes of his bannermen, or be branded an enemy of the crown and a traitor to the realm.

The Lady of Starfall remembered every word of it.

And while she had no objections, that wasn't what concerned her at the moment.

"What's the matter? Concerned for my well-being?" The Lord of Blackhaven smirked, teasing her.

Alexis didn't share his humour however, and replied, "You're heading deep into dangerous territory against arguably the most dangerous man in Westeros."

"So you are concerned for my well-being." Lord Beric teased again with that famous smirk he always gave her.

The Sword of the Morning frowned softly at him. "I'm concerned that you're taking my little brother with you. He's just a boy Lord Beric. He shouldn't be anywhere near that...that monster."

His smirk was gone in an instant, and the Lightning Lord placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, calmly replying, "I understand your concern. And I assure you, I have no intention of putting Edric in harms way. I promise."

In the end, that was all she could really hope for, and nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

When the squire himself arrived, ready to leave with the rest, Alexis leaned down to look him in the eye, and told him, "You be careful, understand?"

Edric nodded.

"Stay close to Lord Beric." She added, to which he nodded again. "And if he tells you to run at the first sight of danger, you run. Ok?"

The younger Dayne rolled his eyes at her concern. "I know, sister. I know."

"Good." She pulled him into a hug, and kissed his head, a hug that he gladly returned.

When they pulled away, albeit reluctantly, the younger Dayne turned and ran to fetch his horse.

She exchanged one last look with Lord Beric, who was already on his horse about to leave.

The Lord of Blackhaven offered her a little smile.

"Be careful." She said.

A single nod of his head was the Lightning Lord's response, before he turned and rode off with his men, Edric riding up at his side.

Alexis watched them leave, and almost failed to hold back a few tears.

Once the last of Beric's men were out of sight, she turned to leave.

She was thankful that she was able to hold back those tears though, because when she turned around, she found herself bumping into a large man.

"Oh! My apologies..." Her apology was cut short when she found herself staring into the man's chest. Slowly, she moved her gaze up from the man's chest to look him in the eye, and were it not for the fact that she was already familiar with the large man, she would have recoiled in fright. Maybe.

"Seein' off my brother's executioners are you?"

The Hound towered over the Sword of the Morning as he asked her his question with a neutral frown.

Alexis maintained a calm look, her eyes staying locked with his, never once flinching under his glare.

"I am." She answered calmly.

He continued to glare at her, almost as if he was half expecting her to at least show some semblance of fear.

She didn't however.

In fact, the more he continued to glare at her, the more a smile started to form on her lips.

His glare hardened in response, and he asked, "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing...Ser." She smiled.

The Hound was almost caught off guard by that one.

He continued to maintain his glare, and then replied, "I'm no Ser."

The Sword of the Morning just nodded, and proceeded to walk around him.

"Of course, my mistake...Ser." She said, brushing a hand across his arm as she walked past him.

The younger Clegane brother almost flinched at her touch, uncomfortable with the unexpected contact.

He turned, looking over his shoulder slightly as he watched her walk away.

She looked back, briefly. Offering him another smile as she ran her hand through her long dark hair.

The ray of sunlight shining down on her, gave her violet eyes a beautiful glow, one that kept The Hound's eyes locked onto her.

It was only after she turned and walked on, that the Clegane was able to finally look away from her.

He just shook his head, and muttered to himself.

"Fuckin' women."

* * *

 **Authors Notes: Ok so I kinda rushed the last part of this chapter and I just wanted to get it finished and done with so I could post it and show that the story is not dead. I'm gonna try and make an effort to start making quicker progress and post chapters more often, I can't make any promises though.**

 **Anyway, I'm gonna keep this one brief. First off, Merry Christmas, even though it's super late now, and Happy New Year, even though it's probably not new year yet for some people. And if you're still keeping up to date with this story even after all of this time, well then I really appreciate it, and I'll try to make sure your patience is rewarded.**


	14. Black of Hair

**Wow, I originally intended to finally finish and upload this chapter months ago, but continuous issues came up and when I finally got back to it, I looked it over and decided I didn't like it so I restarted it.  
**

 **Then the world went to shit, and I couldn't find time to focus on writing it as I was too busy trying to make sure everyone I knew, family and friends, was doing okay, I was even considering just cancelling the story outright. Now, I really don't know what to say on the matter, except this. The current situation really sucks, and it's sad to see how it has affected people. I never thought I'd ever see anything like this in my lifetime, but I'm confident the pandemic will end eventually.**

 **With that said, sorry for taking a really long time to deliver a chapter with little effort put into it, it's been really difficult to focus with everything going on right now.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series now that the show is over. I only own my OC's. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury,** **Alyssa Arryn belongs to Keeper Flame** **, Lewyn Sand belongs to MineyMo.**

* * *

 ** ** ** **The Song of Life********

 ** ** ** **Chapter 14:  
'Black of Hair'********

 **The Eyrie**

Many were still collecting their thoughts following the events that had just recently taken place in The Eyrie.

Tyrion had been brought to the audience chamber after informing Lysa Arryn that he wished to confess his crimes.

Naturally, everyone present was expecting him to confess to the crimes they were accusing him of. The murder of Lysa's husband and the previous Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, and the attempted murder of Catelyn's Stark's son, Bran, while he was still bedridden.

Instead, Tyrion unexpectedly went on about a number of shenanigans he was responsible for when he was younger, something which received mixed reactions from those who were in attendance. Some found it humorous, others found it shocking, while a few were just annoyed, Lysa and her daughter among them.

When Lysa attempted to send him back to his cell, Tyrion managed to convince her to grant him a trial, and he proceeded to demand a trial by combat when Lysa attempted to have him present his case to her son's judgement.

Of course, Tyrion knew letting the Arryn boy decide his fate would only have ended with him being sent through the Moon Door, which he wanted to avoid, as much as possible.

Ser Vardis Egen was chosen by Lysa to represent House Arryn as its Champion, and the sellsword, Bronn, stepped up as Tyrion's Champion, much to the imp's relief.

Naturally, it was expected that the Knight would emerge victorious.

But the dishonourable tactics of the sellsword ultimately earned Bronn the victory.

Many were shocked, some furious.

None more so than Lysa, who was forced to allow Tyrion to walk free as a result of his Champion's victory.

If there was one person who had a right to be more furious than anyone present however, it was Alyssa.

Ser Vardis was the Captain of her father's guards. And while he wasn't the best warrior in the Seven Kingdoms, he was still an honourable man.

And honourable men were hard to come by in Westeros nowadays.

It didn't help that her mother was the one who chose to throw him into a fight that he had no chance of winning, especially against an opponent who had no qualms about using dirty tactics to win.

When they were still in King's Landing, when Jon Arryn was still Hand of the King, the knight was often at Alyssa's side, always guarding her at her father's request.

He was her friend. And someone she could often speak to whenever her father was too busy to make time for her and Robin, which was most of the time. While there were others she could speak to, she didn't trust them as much as she did the knight, especially when she had known the man since she was a little girl. He was someone that she trusted completely.

And now he is dead.

Dead. All because of Tyrion Lannister and his damned sellsword.

Following the trial, Alyssa quickly retired to her chambers, desperate to make sure no one saw the tears that were threatening to leak from her eyes. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, especially when there were so many present in the High Hall.

One person did notice however.

Her aunt Catelyn.

And when everyone else started to leave the hall, Catelyn, rather than speak to Lysa, who was too busy breastfeeding her son, instead decided to go after Alyssa. She was worried, concerned over how the trial may have affected her niece, and considering her sister didn't seem to be interested in how her daughter was faring, Catelyn decided to take it upon herself to comfort her niece instead and provide her with a shoulder to cry on, should she need it.

When she arrived, she quietly let herself into her nieces chambers, slowly entering the room as she looked around for her niece.

She spotted her almost instantly, standing outside on the balcony.

"Alyssa?" Catelyn called out.

Her niece looked over her shoulder, looking at her as she approached. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She said gently, now standing beside her niece out on the balcony.

The Arryn daughter wiped her eyes with her hands and shook her head. "No. It's fine, Aunt Catelyn."

"Even so..." Catelyn said, looking concerned. "If there's anything I can do..."

Her niece glanced at her, and replied almost instantly. "Well...I would like to see Tyrion Lannister's head at my feet. But, I know that's something I can't ask of you."

Catelyn sighed in response. "...I should never have brought him here."

"Forgive my bluntness, Aunt Catelyn, but I agree." Alyssa replied, giving her Aunt a rather disappointed glare. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but you handled the situation rather poorly. If Tyrion really was responsible for what happened to my father and cousin, it would have been far wiser to find evidence to prove it rather than acting on your emotions."

The Lady of Winterfell couldn't deny that her niece had a point.

She let her emotions get the better of her, she let her anger and hatred for the Lannister's drive her into making a reckless decision, and despite her efforts to get justice for her son, it was all ultimately for nothing.

In the end, all she seemed to have accomplished so far was earn the disappointment of her niece.

"I'm sorry Alyssa. Truly, I am." Catelyn apologised, as that was the only thing she could do right now.

The Arryn daughter didn't say a word, and instead simply responded with a nod, atleast acknowledging her Aunt's apology.

Her lack of a worded response seemed to be affecting her Aunt a little though, emotionally anyway.

Even so, Alyssa kept it that way, for now atleast. Unkind as it was, she needed her Aunt to understand the gravity of her mistakes and realise the consequences that follow from such errors. She felt a little guilty being that way towards her Aunt, but at the end of the day, it was tough love.

She would apologise for it later.

* * *

 **King's Landing**

"I'm sending you both back to Winterfell."

With tensions rising between the Stark's and the Lannister's, it was a rather easy choice to make for Ned when he decided that Sansa and Arya would be better off going home to Winterfell, away from potential danger.

Jocelyn backed his decision with good reasoning of her own, pointing out that King's Landing has only gotten more dangerous since news of Tyrion's abduction had spread.

Despite this though, the Stark daughters didn't seem eager to leave.

"What?! What about Joffrey?!" Sansa replied, her reason for wanting to stay clearly showing.

Ned could see the shock and disappointment in their eyes, and as much as he'd like to let them remain in the capital, he had already made his decision, he couldn't let them stay, not when things were getting too dangerous. "Listen-"

"Are you dying because of your leg? Is that why you're sending us home?" Arya asked.

Jocelyn kept a straight face the entire time as her two younger sisters tried to convince their father to let them stay. Normally she would have supported them and done everything she could to convince their father, but this time she refused to do anything, unwilling to take a dangerous gamble.

"This isn't a punishment. I want you back in Winterfell for your own safety." Their father explained.

Arya was insistent about her teacher however, and asked, "Can't we take Syrio back with us?"

"Who cares about your stupid dancing teacher?! I can't go!" Sansa interrupted, turning back to her father with a pleading look in her eyes. "I'm supposed to marry Prince Joffrey. I love him and I'm meant to be his Queen and have his babies."

Her response earned mixed reactions, but while Ned and Jocelyn remained silent, Arya made hers loud and clear. "Seven hells." She commented.

Sansa then turned to Jocelyn, and asked, "Please sister, tell him! Tell father I can't go!"

The eldest Stark daughter slowly shook her head, and calmly replied, "I'm sorry sister, but father is right. You need to go back to Winterfell where it is safe."

"But...but..." Sansa stumbled over her words, trying to find a response, but failed.

Ned then tried a different approach, and told her, "When you're old enough, I'll make you a match with someone who's worthy of you. Someone who's brave and gentle and strong."

"I don't want someone brave and gentle and strong! I want him!" Sansa replied almost immediately, much to Arya's amusement. "He'll be the greatest King that ever was, a Golden Lion, and I'll give him sons with beautiful blond hair!"

Jocelyn narrowed her eyes a little at her younger sister, before going deep in thought as she repeated that response in her head.

Their father also seemed to have noticed something off about Sansa's response.

But before he could reply, Arya beat him to it.

"The Lion's not his sigil, idiot. He's a Stag, like his father."

Sansa was quick to respond however, replying, "He is not. He's nothing like that old drunk King."

A soft gasp escaped Jocelyn, who glanced at her father with a look of concern.

He caught her look at the corner of his eye, and started wondering if she was thinking the exact same thing he was thinking. Given how smart she was, he wouldn't be surprised. Which led to him dwelling on his own thoughts for a brief moment, thoughts that started to weigh heavily on his mind.

Before choosing to dwell on his thoughts any further, he turned back to his daughters.

"Go on, girls. Get your Septa and start packing your things." He told them.

"Wait!" Sansa tried to protest again.

Arya just rolled her eyes and grabbed her sister's wrist. "Come on!" She said, dragging her older sister towards the door.

"It's not fair!" Sansa protested once more, but her words fell on deaf ears as Jocelyn escorted them out of the room.

Once they were gone, Jocelyn closed the door behind them, and turned to face her father.

Ned, who looked deep in thought, slowly limped his way over and seated himself at his desk, and wasted no time reaching for the book that Grand Maester Pycelle had given him earlier.

'The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms' it was titled.

Opening the book, Ned started to turn the pages, Jocelyn watching him in complete silence as he looked for a specific page, catching a glimpse of some pages that talked about the Targaryens and the Umbers.

Ned stopped once he found the Baratheon page, then he looked up, glancing at his daughter for a moment.

She just stared back at him, a neutral look in her eye that made her look like she was calm, and for the most part she was. But inside, there was a part of her that was starting to worry.

Even though he just wanted to close the book and pretend like nothing had happened, the Hand of the King needed to confirm his suspicions, and so he looked back down at the Baratheon page in the book, and read it out loud.

"Lord Orys Baratheon, black of hair...

Axel Baratheon, black of hair...

Lyonel Baratheon, black of hair...

Steffon Baratheon, black of hair..."

The Hand of the King then turned to the next page, where his friends name was and where his suspicion was about to be confirmed or not.

"Robert Baratheon, black of hair...

Joffrey Baratheon...golden-haired."

He stopped, and thought for just a brief moment.

And very quickly, the shocking realization dawned on him just like that.

Jocelyn definitely came to the same conclusion as well, because he could see the usual calm expression on her face was gone, replaced by the same look of pure shock he had on his own face.

Ned closed the book and leaned back into his chair as he tried to process everything in his mind, it was just too much to take in.

Joffrey wasn't King Robert's son.

Prince Derek was the only trueborn heir of the Baratheon King.

Which meant that Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen were...

* * *

 **Essos**

The Dothraki certainly didn't hold back in their celebration of Khal Drogo and Daenerys' child.

Everyone was seated in a large hut, drinking and eating, while other members of the Khalasar were playing drums and dancing with each other.

It was truly a joyful scene for Lewyn, who was very thankful that he was allowed the honour of sitting next to Daenerys. And sitting beside them, much to no one's surprise was Ser Jorah himself, along with Irri and Doreah, the latter whom had her arms wrapped around Lewyn.

While the Khaleesi was talking with her handmaidens, Lewyn took a moment to look around the tent once again, and couldn't help but admire the sight of the Khalasar enjoying themselves.

If this was the celebration now, it made him wonder what the celebration would be like when the Khal's child is born.

An even bigger hut with more food and drink most likely, he guessed.

Despite not being one of them, it didn't take long for him to grow really fond of them and their wild ways. To be able to be among them and experience their way of life and their culture, it felt like a breath of fresh air for Lewyn, even if there was still a language barrier between him and most of the new friends he made. He was still learning though, thanks to Doreah, who was more than happy to help him learn to speak their language.

The thought of the handmaiden prompted Lewyn to turn his head and look at her.

She turned and looked back at him, and smiled.

He smiled too, and leaned in to press his lips against hers, an action that she was glad to return.

Indeed, he was very happy with his life right now, and he was confident that things would only continue to get better as time went by. For him, for Daenerys, for all of them.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

"Daenerys!"

Well, almost nothing.

"Where's my sister?"

Hearing the slurred words of Viserys as he stumbled into the tent caught their attention.

And as soon as she saw him, Daenerys quietly said to Ser Jorah, "Stop him."

The knight didn't need to be told twice, getting up from his seat almost instantly and making his way towards the elder Targaryen sibling.

"Where is she?" Viserys asked out loud as he stumbled around, clearly drunk and looking very deranged, much to Lewyn's concern. "Hm? Where is she? I'm here for the feast. The whore's feast?!" The elder Targaryen sibling said, mocking them now as the knight approached him.

"Come." When Ser Jorah reached him, he gently reached out to guide him to his seat, but as expected, Viserys reacted with extreme hostility.

The young man simply pushed him away forcefully, and glared daggers at him. "Get your hands off me! **No one** touches the Dragon!"

Lewyn just frowned at the young man's action. He understood to an extent why the Targaryen was so angry, or perhaps frustrated was the more appropriate word. After all, Viserys had sold his sister to the Khal expecting him to help fight his war and win him the Iron Throne, but things just weren't as simple as that. What's more, they were across the Narrow Sea, they had no ships at the moment, and Khal Drogo's Khalasar definitely did not have enough warriors to fight a war in Westeros. The Targaryen did try to run off with the Dragon eggs to solve that problem, but thanks to Ser Jorah, that didn't end up happening.

In the end, Lewyn could only hope that Viserys would calm down and learn to be patient, though it was very unlikely given how he had been acting as of late.

While Viserys continued making a fool of himself, Qotho, one of Khal Drogo's bloodriders, turned to the Khal and told him, "Khal rhae mar. Me ifa."

Both the Khal and his bloodrider started to laugh after the latter's comment, clearly mocking Viserys much to Daenerys' concern, feeling quite a bit embarrassed that her own brother was causing a scene in such a humiliating state.

The laughter of the two quickly caught the elder Targaryen's attention, who turned and smiled mockingly as he repeated himself. "Khal Drogo! I'm here for the feast!"

Khal Drogo just stared at Viserys for a moment, before casually telling him, "Nevaki vekha ha maan." He said, gesturing towards the back of the hut where the old women and children were seated.

Unsure of what the Khal was saying, Viserys turned to Ser Jorah, who translated for him. "Khal Drogo says there is a place for you." He said, before pointing to the same place the Khal did. "Back there."

Refusing, and obviously feeling very insulted, Viserys looked back at Khal Drogo and shook his head. "That is no place for a King."

"You are **no** King." Was all Khal Drogo said in response.

Viserys had finally reached his breaking point upon hearing those words, and quickly drew his sword, turning and pointing it at Ser Jorah when the knight attempted to stop him. "Keep away from me!"

Silence followed. Everything was quiet with the exception of the angry Dothraki hissing at the elder Targaryen, something Lewyn took notice of, and he couldn't help but feel worried.

"Viserys, please!" Daenerys called out as she stood up.

The elder Targaryen slowly turned and looked over at her, his deranged glare focused solely on her now. "There she is..." He said, before turning his sword on her, approaching her with malicious intent.

"Put the sword down! They'll kill us all!" Ser Jorah said, worried that Viserys' actions would indeed provoke the Dothraki, but mostly worried for Daenerys' safety at the moment.

Viserys pointed his sword back at the knight and confidently replied, "They **can't** kill us!"

The young man chuckled as he continued towards Daenerys, pointing his sword around at the other Dothraki as he added, "They can't shed blood in their sacred city." He said smugly, before turning once more to his sister as he reached her.

Doreah was about to move in front of Daenerys to try and protect her, but before she could however, Lewyn beat her to it. The young Dornishman slowly pulled Doreah back and then put himself between Daenerys and Viserys, determined to keep the elder Targaryen from harming his own sister. "Please, put the sword away."

Viserys frowned, looking like was about to reach his breaking point yet again. It was almost as if being stopped by a Bastard was the most offensive thing in the world to him, the look on his face said it all.

"Get out of my way bastard. My sister and I need to have a talk." Viserys said, quietly, but not so quiet that Lewyn could hear the threatening tone in his voice.

The young Dornishman decided to try and reason with the elder Targaryen, assuming, hoping, that it would de-escalate the situation. Holding his hands up in front him, he calmly replied, "Look, please, just calm down, your grace. There's no need to threaten anyone here, please, this isn't fair."

Viserys hardened his glare and scoffed. "Fair? FAIR?! I gave my sister to Khal Drogo, with the promise that he would help me obtain my crown, a promise that he has clearly forgotten all about. It was agreed, that after my sister was his, he would help get me my crown, and he has yet to fulfil his end of the bargain! And you're going to speak to **me** about being unfair?"

Lewyn couldn't really argue against that. He did have a point to an extent.

Even so...

"Right. I understand, it was a poor choice of words, I'm sorry." Lewyn corrected himself. "Let's talk about it then, your grace. Please, just put the sword away, we can sit down somewhere and we can talk about it."

Viserys looked like he was about to snap any second, but for a moment, it seemed as if he was actually contemplating putting his sword down.

Noticing this, Lewyn slowly took a small step forward and tried to gently push the Targaryen a little more, hoping it would be enough to finally calm him down. "Just put the sword down, ok your grace?"

Another small step, and the young Dornishman slowly put a hand on Viserys' shoulder. "Just calm down."

Glancing at the hand on his shoulder, the crazed look in the Targaryen's eyes turned into rage.

Murderous rage.

And in an instant, he impaled Lewyn with his sword.

"DON'T TOUCH ME BASTARD! I AM THE DRAGON!"

Doreah screamed.

As did Daenerys and some of the other Dothraki.

Lewyn didn't scream however.

He couldn't.

All he could do was stay frozen in shock at the feeling of the sword as Viserys pulled it from him.

Several of Khal Drogo's bloodriders were on him immediately, grabbing him and dragging him away kicking and screaming as Lewyn collapsed to the ground, Doreah and Daenerys rushing to his side.

"Get some help! Someone get some help!" Daenerys shouted before looking down at Lewyn, taking his hand. "It's going to be okay, Lewyn. You're going to be okay, just hold on, ok? Hold on!"

Lewyn was breathing heavily, blood trickling down from his mouth as he looked back at her, unable to find the strength to respond.

Ser Jorah, who approached, looked down at them for a moment, then at Viserys, who continued to flail about.

"UNHAND ME! YOU CANNOT TOUCH ME! I AM THE DRAGON! I AM THE DRAGON! I WANT MY CROWN!" He shouted over and over.

Khal Drogo, who had also approached, looked down at Daenerys as she, Doreah and Irri tried desperately to stop the bleeding.

When he saw Lewyn's eyes start to tear up as he struggled to breath, the Khal turned his full attention to Viserys, who continued to demand the Khal give him his crown. He said nothing, and simply emptied the boiling pot in the middle of the hut of its contents, before tossing in some gold chains.

The elder Targaryen stopped his flailing and shouting, realising what the Khal was intending to do, and immediately called his sister for help. "No...Dany! Dany!"

She didn't listen to him however, keeping her eyes on Lewyn the entire time as his breathing slowed down.

"Ser Jorah, I...we need to..." The Khaleesi looked up at the knight for help, but when she saw the resigned look on his face, she started to tear up. When he slowly shook his head in response, Daenerys held back a sob and looked back at the young Dornishman. "N-No...no!"

Doreah, who was sobbing the entire time, cupped Lewyn's face with shaky hands, leaning in until her face was inches from him. "Please...please my Prince. My sweet, sweet Prince. Please don't leave me...please...please."

Lewyn just looked into her eyes, and using what strength he had, slowly raised his hand and cupped her cheek.

Struggling to find the strength to speak, he weakly uttered out his words to the handmaiden...

"...love...y...love...y..."

Doreah nodded, understanding what he was trying to say, and broke down again, her cries being the only sound besides Viserys' pleas that filled the hut as Daenerys tried to hold back her own cries, holding Lewyn's other hand tightly.

When Lewyn looked up at her, he tightened his grip around her hand just a little, and mouthed something to her.

"Q...een...m...m...Queen."

Daenerys stifled a sob and nodded, placing her other hand on top of his as she heard her brother call out desperately to her.

"DANY PLEASE!"

Finally, she did turn around to face him, but she had no intention of helping him. She simply wanted him to see the anger in her teary eyes as Khal Drogo approached him with the pot.

Lewyn couldn't see what was happening, all he could see was Doreah's face as she stayed by his side in his final moments.

He could hear everything however.

And the last thing he heard was Viserys screaming before he took his last breath.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: This...was absolute hell to write. Again, sorry for the long wait for this disappointing chapter, it's definitely not my best. If I had the motivation I had when I started the story it would've come way out better than this. Anyway, I'll keep this short. The bright side, is that that concludes Episode 6, and with this finished, I'm hoping I can get future chapters done much quicker. Hopefully.  
**

 **Anyway, as usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.**


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